Tiago Monteiro has won the sweetest victory of his career in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, WTCC, today on the Vila Real circuit, a hundred kilometers from his hometown of Porto. The first highlight was to secure pole position which he did in Q3, which brings together the 5 fastest drivers from qualifying. In the race, he made a strong start and drove a masterful race where he wasn’t threatened by his rivals at all.
At the end of the 13 lap race, Tiago had scored his second victory of the season and his ninth in the FIA WTCC. Throughout the race, the crowd chanted his name and exploded with joy after their hero took the chequered flag… “There are no words to describe what I feel with this victory. I will keep all the details of this fabulous weekend in my memory and in my heart forever. This fantastic week could not have had a better outcome. Thank you to all the fans who turned up in Vila Real, I am very happy that I was able to give them a bit of happiness in these difficult times.”
An hour before his victory, Tiago scored a point for 10th place in the first race, something he held under the rule of the inverted grid. “I knew I had to be careful in the first race so as not to not ruin the benefit of my pole position,” Tiago explained, “I wanted to see the finish and not damage the car. So I made a wise start and throughout the race, the pressure was big. On a complex track such as Vila Real, we couldn’t underestimate our opponents and I stayed focused the entire time. Then I had this massive explosion of joy at the end of the second race.”
Tiago has now moved from 5th to 2nd place in the championship with the next two races of the championship taking place in Argentina, on August 6 and 7.
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