Tiago Monteiro on the streets of Marrakech

Tiago Monteiro will defend his position and SEAT colours with the SR Sport team next weekend in Morocco for the second round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), the cancellation of the Mexican races forcing the championship to close its doors for almost two months. At the conclusion of the Brazilian races, Tiago fund himself in 8th place of the drivers classification and is now looking to secure as many points as possible on the Marrakech street circuit positioned near the centre of the historical town.

"Last year, this track was not very nice to SEAT but it was the first time we were here so we gathered some important data. I hope we’ll make the most of it but I don’t expect this weekend to be a walk in the park" Tiago explained. "But I’m still confident I will be able to get a good result and secure points. We can’t wait to get going after such a long break, which seems like an eternity to me."

This year, the long 4.6 km layout underwent some modifications in order to accommodate the FIA Formula 2 Championship and these adjustments will certainly have consequences for the WTCC. After the 2009 edition, this weekend will be the second year that a world championship will drop its bags in Morocco, before that the last time an FIA sanctioned event took place here was all the way back in 1958 with the Formula One World championship.

Tiago confirms that Marrakech could be a very different appointment this year and that the African city is a big step for the championship. "Marrakech is a very special place because of where the track is and also because the fans, which are always enthusiastic, can watch very competitive races. We don’t know yet what the adjustments made to the circuit will bring us but sometimes the smallest change can make all the difference to a crucial curve. We must not forget it is a street circuit and that the margin for error is narrower than anywhere else."

In Morocco, the FIA WTCC can count on a partly cloudy sky and temperatures close to 30°C. However scattered showers are expected on qualifying day, Saturday May 1st.