Tiago Monteiro let down by new engine

The new 1.6 liter Turbo engine that Tiago Monteiro was trying out for the first time in competition this weekend in Brno, the scene of the fifth meeting of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, decided not to cooperate with the Portuguese driver and determined his results in the Czech Republic (12th and 13th).

Engine problems began as soon as the SEAT Leon got started at Brno. The entire SEAT Sun-Red structure focused their attention on solving these technical imperfections which had heavy consequences, but their efforts were not enough to ensure Tiago could be competitive come race time. After making a brief appearance in qualifying, Tiago started from the 17th spot on the grid in both races and could only have the ambition getting in enough mileage to help the team better come to grips with the new engine. "Once again, the team did an incredible job. This morning, two more new problems were solved and we thought our worries were behind us. I had an excellent first lap, I moved up to 11th place, but the engine was not at 100% and was showing a performance deficit, which prevented me from defending against attacks," explained the driver of the SEAT Leon #18 car.

In the second race, the patient’s condition worsened, and the new engine ended up forcing Tiago to finish out of the points. It was the first meeting of the season that Tiago returned from empty-handed. It pushes him down to 6th place in the overall drivers’ classification. "From the 3rd lap, the engine started to cut out, like yesterday, when I was in 5th or 6th gear. Out of the five new engines, only one slipped through the net. The team will run with the car in order to figure out the source of the problem and solve it before the Porto races. I am leaving Brno very disappointed but I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a tough weekend. I have confidence in the team, I know they will find a fast and effective solution!"

Tiago is confident he will be behind the wheel of a SEAT Leon that is at 100% of its potential on July 3 for the meeting at Porto, marking the end of the first half of the season.