About one year later after the serious accident suffered in a Honda test session in Barcelona, Tiago Monteiro will compete again. The Portuguese pilot will line up in the penultimate round of the WTCR disputed in Suzuka on the 27th and 28th of October.
The former F1 driver will race with the Honda Civic Type R TCR from the Boutsen Ginion Racing team that has been used by riders Benjamin Lessennes and Ma Qinghua. Participation in the Suzuka race is part of the recovery program that Tiago Monteiro has been doing after the accident in September 2017.
Despite going to race in Japan, according to his doctors, the Portuguese driver will not race in the journey disputed in Macau. However, the Honda rider will be present as an ambassador for the Japanese brand.
Return in full only in 2019
The pilot, who even won several WTCC races in 2017, said that everything he went through during the last year gave him motivation: “Having been in the races in which he should have been racing throughout the year and not doing it , it tore me up, but it also gave me even more strength and motivation”.
However, after being away from competition throughout the 2018 season, the Porto driver is cautious about his return, having stated that “this it will be a cautious return and without sporting goals. Above all, I want to have fun and feel comfortable with my pace. so that you can return in 2019 full-time.”. Interestingly, the track where Tiago Monteiro will return to competition is the same one where he made his debut for Honda, in 2012.