Tiago Monteiro returns to Zolder

This coming weekend Tiago Monteiro will arrive in Zolder, Belgium, in order to contest the 7th and 8th races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. For the SEAT driver it is a bit like tracing the tradition back to its source as he secured two awesome wins in the World Series by Nissan back in 2004, when he was making his European return to Motorsport after a brief career in the USA.

Tiago is hoping that he will be able to celebrate his re-acquaintance with the Belgium track with two points finishes that will help to reinforce his standings in the battle for the world title. Currently, the SEAT León TDI #3 driver occupies 7th place in the general classification.

The Belgian round of the championship is a virtual unknown to everyone in the series and it could hold some surprises.

"I am confident, but it will only be after we have completed some runs in Zolder that we will know how the car behaves on this track" warns Tiago, "Again we will have a 40kg ballast, which is the maximum you can have, and that’s quite a drawback. But I think we have what we need to overcome this difficulty. The adrenaline rush is guaranteed when you race on an interesting circuit for the first time. I am looking forward to being in Belgium."

Because of their excellent performances from the beginning of the season, the SEAT León TDI of the SR-Sport team will have the maximum ballast what will make the challenge even more difficult on the challenging 4.006 km long layout and it will be necessary to go the distance 13 times in each race. Therefore, position on the starting grid will be of primary importance.

The historical circuit, which has accommodated Formula One in the past, has not hosted a round of the touring car championship since 2001, when the ETCC (European Touring Car Championship) raced in Belgium. For Tiago Monteiro, it will be essential to quickly adapt to the circuit in order to achieve his goals.

"It is essential to try and secure points in each race because that’s the only way to keep fighting with the front-runners," Tiago explains, "Augusto Farfus is 6 points ahead of me and I’d like to leave Zolder in front of him in the standings. This is a technical track and I can imagine how different the approach must be in comparison to the one you have on board a singleseater. The temperatures might be high as we’re getting closer to summer and Zolder might be a special challenge for the tires as well."

The Portuguese driver will be able to count on a fairly clear sky during the entire weekend, with maximum temperatures more than 20°C.