Tiago Monteiro wins in Thai WTCC

Tiago Monteiro has left his mark on the 11th round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, WTCC, by winning the second race held on the Thai Chang International Circuit of Buriram. This third win of the season allows the Portuguese driver back (up) into 5th place in the championship.Having qualified on the first row of the starting grid for race two, Tiago Monteiro had a good start staying in the wake of race leader, Norbert Michelisz. He then pulled out a remarkable overtaking maneuver on the Hungarian 3driver on lap three and pulled out a gap of more than two seconds over the chasing pack. Tiago wasn't challenged throughout the entire race, which was interrupted with two laps to go as night began to fall on the Buriram circuit.In the first race, starting from ninth on the grid, Tiago moved up to 7th place, despite a damaged Honda Civic. He was in 6th place into the first corner, but fell back after narrowly avoiding a multi car accident on the first lap when two competitors came too close. After hitting one of them, who was already in distress right in front of him in the middle of the circuit, Tiago managed to continue the race and score valuable points for the championship."It was a very difficult race because each lap was like a qualifying lap. It was the only way for me to have a chance to win, "said Tiago. "Everything went perfectly well, I did not made a fantastic start, but I waited for the right moment to overtake Norbert. Then I pushed for another win. Sebastien Loeb was trying to come back at me and at nightfall, it was a bit strange because we had lost some of our reference points. A big thank you to Honda for this victory!"With just one more racing weekend remaining on the FIA WTCC calendar, the goal is for Tiago to move into 4th place overall, a position he has occupied for the majority of the season. "It's always been my goal," confirms Tiago, "And after this weekend in Thailand, we're close. This circuit was probably not the easiest for our package, but this fantastic result gives motivation to everyone. For the races in Qatar, we will maintain the same level of performance and try to get another podium. It would be exceptional."


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