In the wake of a series of good results, starting from the beginning of the season and comprising of one pole position and four podium finishes in the last five races, Tiago Monteiro heads into the coming weekend with fierce determination. June 7th and 8th will be round six of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, WTCC, and will take place in Moscow, Russia.
This weekend’s event will mark the end of the first half of the 2014 season and the Honda Civic will benefit from several small updates to the chassis. But despite his normal optimism, Tiago knows that the weekend will not be easy, especially as as the Honda Civic will have to carry an additional 20 kg. "My goal and the teams is to score as many points as possible because consistency is a key factor in this championship. But we need to be realistic, our goal is to be the best behind the Citroën squad, the best of the rest," said Tiago knowing that despite the recent hard work put in by JAS Motorsport Honda, the car cannot compete on equal terms with its most refined rivals.
The Moscow circuit and it’s technical layout should ideally suit the Honda Civic, but its straight is one of the longest drivers of the FIA WTCC will race on. "That is why there is an unknown factor," admits Tiago. "We will use the technical sections to our advantage because we know that other sections may be more complicated for us. I hope that the changes made to the chassis will allow us to take a step forward, but I do not know yet whether a fight for the podium is a realistic goal, but we will do our best and will seize every opportunity available to us."