Monteiro hopes to fight for the podium in Brands Hatch

Two weeks after his brilliant home success that saw him take his first victory of the season in front of his local fans at the Algarve International Autodrome, Tiago Monteiro dons his helmet and gloves once again with the firm intention of continuing this positive momentum and be one of the top runners for SEAT and SR-Sport in the 11th and 12th races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) this coming weekend at the Brands Hatch circuit in England.

Tiago knows the famous British circuit well after accumulating some very good performances there over the course of his career, particularly last year, and therefore he is confident that he will be able to secure a good result on the former Formula 1 circuit. As such he should be able to consolidate his 5th place in the general classification as well as contributing to help SEAT get in front in the manufacturers championship."Brands Hatch is an interesting but demanding circuit, especially for tyres," warns Tiago, "But this aspect of the race does not alter our motivation which is huge, especially after such a special win in front of my home crowd. It is hard to set ourselves some aims before the start of practice because we know the ballast will be a big burden for us in brands Hatch, but in general we would like to be able to find a solution to all the problems we could have and to be able to secure the maximum amount of points. I am confident because the team is doing an outstanding job lately and we’ve been able to reduce and even close the gap with several rivals."

The SEAT León TDI #3 driver is only 5 points shy of 4th place in the general classification. He is also one of the best representatives for SEAT, which is just 5 points behind the leader. With the championship heading into its second half, Tiago reminds everyone that it is still very open. "The battle for the championship is very tight and there are still 6 race weekends which means 12 races on the calendar. There are many points left to grab and the most important factor is to be constantly at a high level. If a podium or a win is within our reach, that’s all good of course, but the main thing is to bring back some good points. In Brands Hatch like anywhere else, it will be important to get into the Top 10 in qualifying."

If the British weather does not deliver a last minute surprise to the FIA WTCC, the Brands Hatch races should be dry and the sky should just be partly cloudy.