Tiago Monteiro has called his victory in the Macau Guia Race ‘revenge’ for his previous misfortune at the event, after he took victory in the second TCR International Series race on Sunday.
Monteiro took part in the event as a one-off for WestCoast Racing, finishing third in race one before taking victory in the following race.
With the grid for the main Guia race being formed by the ‘qualifying race’ (although both races had equal weight in the TCR International Series), Monteiro made a superb start in race two to jump both Leopard Racing Volkswagens of Jean-Karl Vernay and Stefano Comini.
The Portuguese star then led the remainder of the race, which was interrupted by red flags, to hold off Vernay for the win.
“I knew what I had to do and that success could come from the first few moments of racing,” said Monteiro. “I took a risk and it paid off, but the race itself was difficult. The level of competition was very high and I had to run my race calmly to be sure I kept my head. I knew that the slightest mistake, the slightest slip up, could see it all end in the barriers.
“The objective was to win Macau and I achieved it. It’s a race that means so much to any driver and a place so special for us Portuguese… I am very happy and it is a revenge on the bad luck when I lost the race one lap before the end two years ago…
“I knew the competition was going to be very tough in TCR and so it was. Still, it was a very strange and very long race, with so many interruptions, but the few laps of real racing were very intense. I knew I had to attack and did it at the start and the restart in race two, and that proved to be a smart move.
“The satisfaction of this win is immense, it is a fabulous feeling, I am very happy and I thank Honda and West Coast Racing for all they have done for me this weekend.
Monteiro also took pleasure in seeing his former DTM racer and protégée António Félix da Costa take victory in the Formula 3 Grand Prix later in the day.
“We cannot imagine a better result that this one! It is a huge pride for our country and our national motorsport is very proud of Antonio’s victory.”
Half points were awarded in both races, so Monteiro ends the year classified in 16th overall after his win and podium finish, which would have been 14th overall if full points had been awarded.