Tiago Monteiro survives Brno chaos

The seventh round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) took place on the Czech circuit of Brno this weekend and was characterized by various incidents that saw two very curious races.

Starting 14th on the grid after enduring difficulties finding enough grip in qualifying, the SEAT Sr-Sport driver knew that the races would not be easy starting from the middle of the pack. However, he fought his way up to 7th place by the sixth lap of the first race and was in the middle of a battle with Andy Priaulx when O’ Young hit him in the rear. This sent Tiago into a slide, but thankfully he kept control of the car, however, the incident caused even more damage to the tyres on his Seat Leon TDI n°3 that were already suffering from the heat of the Brno circuit.

Therefore Tiago lost 8th place, which would have given him pole position for the second race, and dropped back to 10th place by the finish. "I just could not get out of this pack where some drivers were systematically slamming doors to prevent us passing," regrets Tiago, "I knew I had to quickly get out of there because the more the tyres were used the more the car was difficult to handle and the last part of the race was really tough."

Not only was it difficult, the race was frustrating. Trapped in the mid pack, Tiago fell victim to the anti-sporting behaviour of a competitor who harpooned his chances of advancing. Instead of trying to do some nice overtaking manoeuvre, some started to make contacts. "I think I did a good race and I seized all the opportunities and my only regret is that there is not rule to prohibit or to punish such behaviour on track."

Despite the little time that was allowed for him to work on his SEAT León TDI between the two races, Tiago carried out several set up changes which enabled him to be more confident behind the wheel in race two. "I had a good start and I stayed away from the usual contacts. I was P7 and I found a good and constant race pace which helped me to eventually take the chequered flag in 6th position. This race was a lot less action-packed than the first one and it saved my weekend. We knew we would have to cope with a few difficulties on this track but we did not expect these kind of problems...," Tiago concluded.

The next races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) will take place at Oschersleben in Germany on September 3.