Monteiro gains two positions in the WTCC championship

For the second time in the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship season, the Portuguese anthem sounded on the podium, and yesterday it was on the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia. After having obtained a superb 6th place in the first Spanish round, Tiago Monteiro secured his second victory of the year in the second race which he dominated from the first to the last lap.

Third on the grid, Tiago had a great start by taking the outside line that enabled him to be up in second place after two corners, then he went one place further into first after a successful attack on the Ricardo Tormo circuit’s back straight.

Tiago methodically kept up the pace and also recorded the best lap of the race before continuing his journey towards the finish line as the winner. Today’s success is proof of the technical intelligence from both Tiago and his SEAT SR-Sport team. "The first race was not an easy one because I had no grip and we made a lot of adjustments for the second race," Tiago explained. "I made a good start and once in the lead I pushed hard to open a gap. The car was fantastic and still competitive in the last stages despite the tyre wear."

With this second victory, which is his 4th podium of the season, Tiago moves up two places in the drivers’ championship and contributes further to SEAT’s 2nd place in the manufacturers championship. "This championship is really competitive and the key to succeed is to make no mistakes, which we did this weekend. I collected the fruits of my investment in this championship where the experiment is paramount and I hope that it will enable us to be well prepared for the races in Japan and Macao," declared Tiago. "Nothing is over in either championship and in both Okayama and in Macao it will be my objective to continue to be a player with podiums and victories to help SEAT and SR-Sport preserve their world titles."

The next races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place in Japan, on the circuit of Okayama, on October 31.