Tiago Monteiro: “We’re not going to cry about BoP like our competitors”

KCMG Honda driver Tiago Monteiro has said the Balance of Performance levels aren’t ideal for Honda, but says the manufacturer doesn’t plan to try and influence the organisers in the way their competitors are trying to, following Hyundai’s statement earlier.

The two-day test at Barcelona has so far not been revealing of any true pace, with almost all drivers confessing they’re not running to maximum capacity.

Hyundai’s drivers and BRC Racing team manager Gabriele Rizzo have been the most critical of the championship’s new Balance of Performance (BoP) measures, and the South Korean marque has been low down in the time sheets so far.

“I think like everybody else, we were hoping for better (from the new BoP),” said Monteiro.

“We’ve had a small upgrade in engine performance, but we were very penalised last year. It’s not like we’ve gained to a point where we wanted to be, but we’ve gained a bit more than last year, which in our opinion was totally wrong.”

“We’ve then got some extra weight, which we could do without obviously, but it is what it is. It’s not what we were hoping for, but we have to deal with it.

“I know some of our competitors have been more vocal about the situation, but you know how Honda behaves, we don’t go and cry and shout about things; we deal with them and talk to the people concerned. Our competitors are trying to use the media to influence the FIA, but this is not how we work.”