Penalty deprives Monteiro from podium finish in Oschersleben

The two German races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship had similar scenarios, however they had two very different outcomes for Tiago Monteiro. Always right up there with the front-runners, Tiago fought hard in the top 5 of both events, finishing 4th in the first and losing a podium in the second.

After not being able to record a timed lap during the second phase of qualifying due to a downpour, the SEAT León TDI #3 driver was put on the 5th line of the starting grid for the first race at Oschersleben. He skilfully made his way to 5th by the end of the 14th lap race and was then up into 4th place thanks to a penalty given to several of his competitors after they infringed on the sporting regulation which only allows for a maximum speed of 90km/h for the rolling start of the first race. "It was a tough race, especially in its latter stages because I did not want to take too many risks for my teammate from SR-Sport. I therefore decided to secure a decent result and to add important points to my tally," explained Tiago.

Starting from 4th position on the grid for the second race, Tiago survived a contact caused by a move from the BMW of Farfus, which caused damage to the right-hand side of his car. Following that, the Portuguese driver pilot increased his race pace to climb up into 2nd place before a drive through penalty caused him to fall down the points. However, the collision that caused the situation was caused by his current rival, Michel Nykjaer! "It is quite clear I could not avoid a contact with Nykjear. But he apologized for his mistake as he ran wide and off the line. Unfortunately the race stewards thought I was responsible," explained Tiago. "I’m frustrated because I lost a podium and important points."

Had he not been penalized, Tiago would be 5th and not 7th in the drivers’ championship. The next round of the FIA WTCC will take place in Valencia Spain, on September 19th.