Tiago Monteiro to forfeit Macao

Tiago Monteiro will not be participating in the Macao round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship WTCC, next weekend, November 18th & 19th. The doctors who have been by Portuguese driver’s side throughout his convalescence after his testing accident in Barcelona, have advised him to stay in Portugal and continue with his recovery.

Monteiro, who was leading the championship before his accident in Barcelona, has dropped backed to 4th place in the FIA WTCC 2017 standings as he has not been able to participate in the past four races, two of which took place in China and the other two in Japan.

Despite his disappointment at being unable to participate, Tiago knows that the most important thing is to regain all his physical abilities to prepare for his eventual return to competition. "I cannot hide my disappointment at not being able to continue to fight for the FIA WTCC world driver’s title in Macau. The circuit of Guia is one of the most stimulating and one that is one of the driver’s favourites, especially mine. I feel ready to get back behind the wheel, I feel physically fit, but the risk of a second impact could be disastrous for my body. It is therefore necessary to be patient and postpone my return to competition. There are no words to describe the frustration of seeing the title escape me. But at this point, the only thing I can do is continue to work as hard as I can so that I will be able to take part in the final round of the championship in Qatar and help Honda win the title," said Tiago.

Argentine driver Esteban Guerrieri will replace Tiago in the Honda Civic for the Macao weekend.