Tiago Monteiro says that returning to Barcelona for the official launch of the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in Barcelona has ‘closed the circle’ on his recovery period following his serious accident at the track in 2017.
Monteiro lapped the Spanish circuit for the first time since his accident in September 2017 which side-lined him from competitive racing for a year.
At the time, the Portuguese racer had been leading the World Touring Car Championship but suffered from a brake failure heading into Turn 1 and was injured in a sizeable impact the barriers.
Having spent just over a year recovering from the accident and receiving treatment in the United States for vision issues, Monteiro made a one-off return to racing in Japan last year.
His participation in WTCR in 2019 with Honda customer team KCMG marks his first full season since the accident – and Monteiro believes that starting the season with a launch event in Barcelona is a ‘symbolic’ event for him.
“There is a symbolic point in coming back here, because obviously my accident was here,” said Monteiro to TouringCars.Net. “Now that we are launching officially the championship here in my head it’s closing this circle, this cycle; I am closing this chapter.
“I did point the finger to the corner on the first lap yesterday. After that I never thought about it anymore.
“It’s funny how your brain compartmentalises things and it creates a side where it puts all these bad memories you don’t want to think about anymore. It’s natural; I’m not forcing myself not to think about it – my brain does it automatically.”
After the testing accident, and during his long recovery period, Monteiro admits that he did occasionally have his doubts about returning to racing in the future.
“I remember very well waking up some mornings and deciding to stop. It didn’t happen many times, but it did happen. Then after half an hour, after breakfast, I was like ‘no fucking way, I’m not going to stop’.
“The next morning I’d wake up so motivated and knowing there was no way I was going to stop. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and some days it was difficult to be sure.
“It was not an easy decision; I always had the will to do it, but I needed to think about all the consequences.
“There were so many questions that needed to be answered and we had every step that I was making I was answering some questions.
“The main [question] for me was once I was able to get the OK from the doctors was ‘do I feel ready; do I want to do this?’ This was the key decision because even if the doctor said I was fine to go, do I really want to take the risk again and take on this new challenge?
“Obviously the answer is yes, or I wouldn’t be here, but I just wanted it too much. I know it would have been much easier to stay at home and retire after 20 years of racing or whatever, but I still want this too much. I’m still in love with the sport and what I do.
“I feel so privileged and so lucky to be able to do the thing I love the most and I want to be fighting against the best.
“We have an amazing grid this year, with so many talented champions and newcomers, we’ve got everything, so I would have been really pissed off to be at home this year.”