The penultimate round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, WTCC, will take place this coming weekend September 25 to 27 at the Shanghai International Circuit, China. Tiago Monteiro remains on a high after his brilliant victory in Japan and is now looking to repeat his recent successes in China where he stood on the Shanghai podium in both 2013 and 2014. However, the conditions will be very different in the 2015 event due to the added weight on the Honda Civic.
Even though he knows that this will be a heavy load to carry, Tiago is still hoping to score big points. “Expectations are high because the championship is winding down and we need to catch up our points for 4th place in the championship,” Tiago admits. “But I have to be realistic. Getting onto the podium will be very complicated. The extra weight will determine our performance and Citroen will not be the only team we will need to monitor; our other opponents are very strong and will also play an important role.”
Hand in hand, Honda and its drivers work to counteract the disadvantages imposed by the added ballast. “We must, above all, have the best balanced car of the field,” Tiago explained, “these are the small details that will make the difference and we can’t leave anything to chance. Strategy will also be important, ours will be aimed at adding as many points as possible in the championship.”
Tiago Monteiro is currently in 7th place overall, 18 points behind the fourth position he has occupied for so long, a position he is hoping to recover by the end of the weekend. The Chinese races will be broadcasted on Eurosport, Sunday, September 27 at 7:30 am and 8:30 am.