Tiago Monteiro will miss the start of the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) season as he continues to recover from the injury sustained in testing last year, being replaced by Benjamin Lessennes at Boutsen Ginion Racing.
Monteiro was injured in a high-speed testing shunt in Barcelona in September 2017, and he has not raced since, although the Portuguese racer did complete some laps in pre-season testing at Monza recently.
Monteiro, 41, has not reached a suitable condition to return to racing. No timeframe has been set for this return.
“I knew this was a possibility as the way the human body is not an exact science,” said Monteiro. “Although my physical condition has recovered extremely well, the same has not yet happened with my vision and the result is that I cannot yet return to competition.
“My recovery has been remarkable and the treatment I’ve received from my medical team has been incredible, but I simply cannot take the risk at this stage. I did everything that was within my reach, but both my body and vision are not yet fully recovered.
“I must take this opportunity to thank the fantastic team that has worked tirelessly to support me through this difficult process.
“Of course, I’m incredibly disappointed. I wanted the effects of the accident to be behind me and to start afresh for the new season. That’s not possible just yet, but I will continue my recovery as hard as I can in the expectation that everything will return to normal soon.
“Until then, I will support the team and my Honda colleagues and use my experience and knowledge as much as possible to help them achieve strong results. I may not be on-track, but I will be on-hand to make as much of a contribution as I can. It is very important to maintain team spirit and provide this support.”
2017 TCR Benelux champion Benjamin Lessennes is the team’s reserve driver and will get behind the wheel of the Honda Civic Type-R TCR until further notice, including at the official pre-season tests in Barcelona this week.
“I am very pleased to make my FIA WTCR race debut with Boutsen Ginion Racing, although I wish it had been in happier circumstances,” said Lessenness. “I don’t know how many races I will do before Tiago returns to his car, but I would like to send my best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.
“I have some good experience of the new Honda Civic Type R TCR from having tested late last year and – more recently – with Boutsen Ginion Racing at Zandvoort.
“I’m confident we can do a good job, although it is very clear that the level of competition in WTCR this year will be higher than what we’ve faced previously.”