Tiago Monteiro – fifth could have been pole position

JAS Honda’s Tiago Monteiro feels he could have been on pole after qualifying fifth and sixth for tomorrow’s WTCC Japanese races at Suzuka.

The Portuguese set the fastest time in this morning’s free practice session, but failed to carry the speed over to the qualifying.
“This is a good result, but with a little more luck, we could have been aiming for pole position,” said Monteiro. “In the first qualifying session, we were mainly focusing on qualifying for the second. My first lap was not perfect and on the second I was slowed by yellow flags when Tarquini went off track. I had to slow down and abandon all hope of pole position. It’s frustrating, but that’s racing,” said Monteiro.

Despite his optimism, Monteiro also acknowledged that the podium, whilst not impossible, could be difficult.
“Starting 5th and 6th, I am away from the podium, but it will not be out of my reach entirely,” he said. “I will go for broke! After all our hard work, I know the performance of our car and I know I can have two great races. A good result would be well deserved for the team, for Honda and also for the public.”

Monteiro’s team-mate, Gabriele Tarquini, qualified eighth.