Home hero Tiago Monteiro gave Honda pole position for the FIA World Touring Car Championship’s Race of Portugal in a dramatic qualifying session on the streets of Vila Real on Saturday.
Monteiro, who lives in nearby Porto, was the first of five drivers to set his time in the single-lap Q3 shoot-out race after going fifth quickest in Q2.
Once back in the pit garage, he watched as one-by-one his rivals attempted to beat his time; among them fellow factory Honda drivers Norbert Michelisz and Rob Huff.
Rob had gone fastest in Q2 and was the final driver to take to the track in Q3, but a small error in the first sector cost him time and ensured that Tiago took his first WTCC pole position since the 2010 Race of Portugal at the Algarve Circuit.
British driver Rob, who was also fastest in the morning’s initial practice session, will start fourth while Norbert maintained his superb record of having qualified inside the top six at every round this year and will start in third spot, despite grazing a barrier during his Q3 lap.
The qualifying results mean Rob will start the reversed-grid opening race on Sunday from seventh place with Norbert eighth and Tiago 10th.
The bonus points scored in qualifying mean that Tiago has closed to within one point of third place in the drivers’ championship while Norbert retains sixth and Rob moves up a spot to seventh.
Following qualifying, the seventh MAC3 competition of the year, with manufacturers’ championship points at stake, was held. Tiago, Rob and Norbert finished second, missing out on victory by less than three tenths of a second after two laps of the 4.785km circuit.
Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “It’s a wonderful day for me and for the whole team and a very good all-round performance. I’m actually a little surprised to be on pole because I think Rob and Norbi were a little bit faster than me here. But when the pressure is really on in Q3, people can make mistakes; I made one coming out of the top chicane and lost some time, but everyone else made bigger ones and this is the result. I’m delighted for myself, for Honda and for all the fans who have come here and given me such incredible support all week. Tomorrow the aim is to keep my nose clean in the opening race, pick up as many points as I can and then go and win the main race.”
Rob Huff, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “It’s a great day for Honda to have three cars in the top four and for Tiago to have pole at his home circuit. I’m disappointed not to be on pole because think I had a car that had two or three tenths of a second in hand over everyone else, and I’ve missed pole because I made a small mistake that resulted in a big penalty and left me in fourth instead. But for the team to have had this result with 60kg of compensation weight on the car shows just how well the Civic is performing and what a great job everyone is doing. Last year I passed 10 cars in two races here so I know I can move forwards in both races.”
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS, said: “First of all, huge congratulations to Tiago. I know what it feels like to have pole position for my home event and I’m very happy for him. The pace we’ve shown this weekend in practice and qualifying – despite carrying 60kg of compensation weight – has been excellent and I was expecting to be in Q3 and to fight for pole, which I did. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in Q3 and touched the barrier and that cost me some time, but third is still a very good position from which to start the main race and I still have a very good chance to win; This is my aim.”
Alessandro Mariani, Team Principal, said: “It’s fantastic for us to have pole position, and to do it with our Portuguese driver, Tiago, at his home circuit. We had a lot of drama in Q3; for the first time we saw five top drivers all making mistakes, and this shows how high-pressure qualifying is on a circuit like this, where a small mistake is very easy and can be very costly. We also have Norbi and Rob both in the top five, which is very good for the main race, but it means that in the opening race, with all three drivers starting back in the pack, we need to be careful, make the best starts we can and maximise the points potential.”
Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project Leader WTCC Development, Honda R&D, said: “To have three cars in the top four after a qualifying session as challenging as this is a great result for Honda. We have shown that even with 60kg of compensation weight – the most the Civic WTCC has carried this season – that the car is very competitive. We have a great opportunity to win the main race tomorrow with all three of our drivers and we must maximise the points possibility in the opening race as well