Monteiro: “We just lacked too much speed”

Tiago Monteiro did not have an easy weekend at Curitiba, as the new 1.6 turbo engines proved to be more powerful than SEATs 2.0 turbodiesel engine. The Spanish cars are not yet equipped with the new Global Engine, which is highly affecting the Leóns performances.

Monteiro said the lack of top speed is the biggest handicap for the two times championship winning León TDI.

“We just lacked too much speed compared to the opponents, which led me to losing some places during the first race,” said Monteiro.

The former Formula One racer enjoyed a better performance in race two, improving from his starting position to finish in seventh behind 2009 World Champion Gabriele Tarquini.

“We did some setup changes for the second race which proved to be highly effective. The overall result was still encouraging. It was important to limit the damages and bring home a few points, and that has to be our goal until we get the new engine,” said Monteiro.

Monteiro had clocked the best time in the first qualifying session, something he was not happy about.

“Unfortunately my last run was too quick, which meant I had to start from 10th on the grid,” said Monteiro.

Monteiro now lies eighth in the championship standings with six points, whereas fellow SEAT driver Gabriele Tarquini is sixth with 14 points to his tally.