Monteiro pleased to score first points for Honda

Tiago Monteiro had his goal set on the top ten for the debut race of the all-new Honda Civic in the races at Suzuka in Japan and the Portuguese succeeded.
“I am very pleased with the progress we have made during this first weekend of racing and how the team and I have adapted to the conditions, which were not always easy because we lacked reference,” said Monteiro.

The two races at Suzuka was the first competitive outing for the Civic, built by JAS Motorsport, and the car proved to be competitive straight away despite the relatively short development period ahead of the races.
“In particular, unlike all the other drivers, we did not know what the tires would be like, so I made a cautious start in order to save my tires from degradation, which was especially severe in the fast corners in the first section of the circuit. These two top 10 finishes are a fantastic result for Honda and JAS Motorsport, but this is only the beginning as the Honda Civic has so much more potential,” said Monteiro.

The Honda driver qualified eleventh and managed to climb one position in both races to secure two points. Thanks to the exclusion of Aleksei Dudukalo in race one, Monteiro was promoted after the race to ninth, increasing the points haul to three points.
“I was able to increase the pace and the Honda responded very well. I was probably faster than the drivers ahead of me but I did not want to take any risks because the stakes were very high: the first point in the FIA WTCC for Honda! Many thanks and congratulations to both Honda and JAS Motorsport for the incredible work they have done in the last few months and especially here in Suzuka. This bodes well for the future and I’m looking forward to China in two weeks time,” said Monteiro.