A weighty challenge for Tiago Monteiro in Monza

Next weekend Tiago Monteiro will dispute the 5th and 6th races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship on the Monza circuit in Italy. The Portuguese driver is aiming to continue the momentum from some excellent results obtained in Morocco recently where a podium and a 4th place finish enabled him to move up from 8th to 5th in the drivers’ classification.

However, the SEAT SR-Sport team knows that it will be difficult to rise to the challenge with the compensation weight coming into force for the first time this year. At the head of the manufacturers championship, SEAT will have a ballast of 40kg while the weight at BMW will remain unchanged and Chevrolet will have half the burden given to the SEAT León.
Despite this, Tiago remains optimist and plans to secure some big points at Monza.

"We know it won’t be easy as our car will be heavier than our rivals. And the weight can largely influence the cars behaviour, especially in the fast curves and on tyre wear," Tiago explains, "But I think it will be possible to secure a good result and to add some good points to our tally. My aim is to leave Monza after having contributed to the team’s success and to be 4th in the drivers’ championship. I am only 6 points shy of Andy Priaulx and the race pace will more than likely be very tight. I will fight hard to fulfil my aims."

Tiago’s SEAT León TDI will have a camera onboard at Monza that will show the driver in action from the inside. The races will be broadcasted live by the Eurosport channel on Sunday 23rd May at 11:45AM and 1:45PM. For the Italian round of the championship, drivers can count on a mostly blue sky and maximum temperatures of around 25°C.