Tiago Monteiro: “It’s very important to score every point you can”

Tiago Monteiro has eked away at the head of the championship table after a competitive weekend in Argentina, with the Portuguese driver now 12 points clear of Volvo’s Thed Björk, while the other Volvo of Nicky Catsburg has tumbled down the order after two punctures saw him fail to score on race day.

“It’s fantastic for the team to have a one-two,” said Monteiro, after following team-mate Norbert Michelisz to the line in Race 2.

“We’re all doing a good job and that’s how we recovered the points lead in the manufacturers’ championship.”

Monteiro’s first race wasn’t without incident though, as he ran into team-mate Michelisz at Turn 2 after contact from behind, which caused Michelisz to pit with a puncture.

“The first lap of the opening race was rough,” he said. “I was pushed from behind, locked my wheels to avoid some blue cars and then I hit my team-mate, who saved me.

“After that, my steering was totally off-set but I just needed to survive.

“In Race 2, the three of us (Catsburg, Michelisz) made similar starts, so it was hard to gain an advantage. We pushed Nicky really hard and needed to stay close in case an opportunity arose.”

Monteiro’s lead is now 12 points over Thed Björk, while team-mate Norbert Michelisz is up to third in the points table, 29 points behind heading to the next round in China in October.

“12 points aren’t much, but it’s better to be in front than not,” said Monteiro. “There are still four weekends to go, and I had a really awful weekend in Germany, while Nicky has had one this weekend. You need to take advantage of everything that comes to you. Seven drivers can still win this. It’s very important to score every point you can.”