Double podium for Tiago Monteiro in Hungary!

Tiago Monteiro enjoyed his best weekend in the 2014 FIA World touring Car Championship season, WTCC, and possibly one of the best of his career in the discipline when he finished on the third step of the podium in race one in Hungary, and on the second step of the podium in race two! As a result of the weekend's excellent results, Tiago has been able to move up two places in the drivers' championship, from 6th to 4th place!

The progress made by Honda in recent weeks was materialized on the technical Hungaroring circuit this afternoon, however Tiago's blistering starts undoubtedly played a major role in the achievements of the Portuguese driver in Hungary. In race one, the Honda Civic # 18 driver immediately passed multiple world rally champion, Sebastien Loeb, to take 3rd place and never looked back. Race two was a little more difficult starting from the fourth row of the grid. Nevertheless, Tiago took his opponents by surprise when he moved into second place by the first corner. From there he used all the qualities of his Honda Civic to try and secure his first win of the season.

Tiago recorded the fastest lap several times and was constantly just 3 tenths of a second behind the leader, Gianni Morbidelli, however unfortunately he lacked the top speed to dislodge him from first place. "I tried everything I could to get this victory. I was faster in the technical sections of the circuit, but Gianni was faster in the overtaking zones at the end of the straight. I pushed as hard as I could to try and force him into a mistake, but it didn't happen," explained Tiago.

In Hungary, Tiago recorded the 23rd and 24th podium finishes of his career in the FIA World Touring Car Championship and was the best Honda driver on the technical Hungaroring circuit. "I am very pleased with the outcome of the weekend. Nobody expected that we would be this competitive, but the developments made to the Honda Civic have been very effective," said Tiago. "The road is still long, but these results certainly motivate the team."

The 4th round of the 2014 FIA WTCC season will take place next weekend in Slovakia. Tiago has high hopes for this round after finishing on the podium with Honda last season. "We must continue to improve the car to make it more efficient. We will work on new developments and I hope they will all take us in the right direction."

Tiago Monteiro