Tiago Monteiro remains in contention for the 2016 World Touring Car Championship title, with the Honda driver losing just two points to Citroën’s José María López in Morocco thanks to a main race podium.
Monteiro driver was part of Honda’s best-ever WTCC qualifying result on Saturday, putting his Civic in third on the grid for the main race.
The Portuguese driver was the leading Honda driver in the opening race, where he led team-mates Norbert Michelisz and Rob Huff across the line in fourth. The trio benefitted from the mistakes and penalties of those ahead to make up multiple positions early in the race.
“The first race went very well despite my eighth position on the grid that we feared could lead to some complications,” said Monteiro. “But I managed to have good pace and we took advantage of a few mistakes from our opponents to move up to fourth place.”
In race two Monteiro delivered a strong podium result with third, behind his two team-mates, despite having slipped behind Citroën’s López during the wet race.
“The rain did not ease up for the start but I still went from third to second, even though I suffered from wheel spin into the first corner which made me fall back to fourth place,” continued Monteiro. “The race was long, so we kept a cool head because there was still a lot to do before seeing the chequered flag.
“I found myself behind Pechito López and I put him under pressure and managed to overtake him. I then had both my teammates in sight. I caught up to them, but I could not afford to take any chances.
“This podium is very important for our second place in the championship, and a Honda 1-2-3 is great motivation for the entire team. We will continue to work hard and I believe that the title is within reach.”
Having dropped just two points to reigning champion López, Monteiro is now 14 points adrift on 124 points heading to the next event at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.