Tiago Monteiro will be starting from the pole position in the fifth race of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), which makes a stop this weekend at the legendary Autodromo di Monza.

The Sun-Red Engineering driver secured the third pole position of his FIA WTCC career in the first qualifying session which determined the starting lineup for the second grid by reversing the order of the ten fastest drivers.  

Tiago Monteiro was able to apply his team's strategy perfectly and give the SEAT León TDI its second pole position of the season. "I still do not like qualifying sessions like this, but this time it was in my favour. We planned to aim for the 8th fastest lap time, which would have been guaranteed me to start from the second row, but the final scenario is even better!" declared the Portuguese driver.  

Tiago Monteiro kept up his effort in the second qualifying session, where he finished in 5th place, the best result for a SEAT León TDI at the Temple of Speed, where the latest generation turbo engines have a considerable power advantage. This performance assures him a start from the 5th row on the starting grid in the 6th race of the championship.

"I took a good slipstream and I managed a flawless flying lap," said Tiago proudly, as he also had the best time in the first sector, before an armada of Chevrolets.

The SEAT León TDI #18 gave up most of its time in the final sector, where power dominates.

"The result is better than we expected and one must not forget that on such a fast track we're short no less than 40bhp. This result is really positive! Both races will be tough though. There are several overtaking opportunities in Monza, but I will do my best and will be realistic: securing some points will be the aim."  

The Monza races will be broadcast live on Eurosport, at 11:30 AM and 1:45 PM.