Tiago Monteiro finished the WTCC Race of Austria as the top Castrol Honda driver after securing a top four finish during the second race at the Salzburgring.
The Portuguese driver gained a position at the start of round 10 and was holding onto third until the closing laps when Yvan Muller in the Chevrolet Cruze passed him for third.
Fourth position meant that he moved into the overall top 10 in the drivers’ Championship ahead of the trip to Russia and the Moscow Raceway over the 8th/9th June.
“Our race was good but it was very difficult to beat the Chevrolets,” explained Monteiro.
“4th place is still a very important result for me and for the team. We continued to develop the car and we must continue this process before the next race.”
Qualifying saw Monteiro set the 7th best time of the session but he was denied the chance to improve his position after getting caught up in the train which meant that none of the top 12 could improve their times.
Later, Monteiro was given a 12 place grid penalty for his involvement in the qualifying chaos and subsequently, all of the Honda’s were sent to the back of the grid and Monteiro had to start 22nd for the first race.
From 22nd on the grid, the Portuguese racer moved up the order to take 13th place and ensured that the car didn’t collect any damage ahead of his second row start for the second race.
“We did not want to take any chances, but our pace was still very good. Starting from the back of the pack, there was no reason to risk losing everything for the second race. Nevertheless, 13th place was quite satisfactory,” he explained.