Honda’s Tiago Monteiro says he is certain of being competitive when the World Touring Car Championship kicks off in France this weekend, saying he has “never been as excited heading into a new season”.
Monteiro is joined by new team-mates Rob Huff and Norbert Michelisz for the coming season, as Honda increase their efforts in the WTCC.
As a result, Monteiro is in a buoyant mood ahead of the start of the new season in the south of France.
“I’ve never been as excited heading into a new season of the WTCC as I am right now,” said the Portuguese racer. “There have been little refinements all over the Civic WTCC and they add up to a big difference in terms of how the car feels.
“We showed good pace at Paul Ricard last year and I’m sure we can be competitive against our rivals once more.”
Monteiro added that his JAS Motorsport team had worked hard over the winter to ensure that the car was ‘better suited’ to the demands of the varied WTCC calendar.
“The team’s work over the winter was very good. We have a more competitive Honda Civic. It is also more adapted to the needs of the championship.
“I feel we are in a good position and everyone in the team is optimistic, but it will only be after the first race that we will know how we are in comparison to our opponents. We have done our job but we do not know what the others have done.”
The experienced touring car driver also praised the innovations introduced by the WTCC promoters, which will see a new manufacturer time-trial qualifying session and changes to the race one and race two format.
“I think the new additions to the championship, like the new race format and MAC3 will be great for the fans,” added Monteiro. “I really can’t wait to get started.”