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Anderstorp: Tiago Monteiro preview

Anderstorp: next stop for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) next week end, 28th and 29th of July. Nestled some 250 kilometers to the north of Malmö and the southernmost tip of the Baltic Sea, the Anderstorp circuit and the six Formula 1 ...

Anderstorp: next stop for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) next week end, 28th and 29th of July. Nestled some 250 kilometers to the north of Malmö and the southernmost tip of the Baltic Sea, the Anderstorp circuit and the six Formula 1 Grands Prix of Sweden hosted there are a part of auto racing history.

Unlike many WTCC drivers, Tiago Monteiro is totally unfamiliar with the 4,025 meters circuit, so the driver of the SEAT León No. 18 car will be uniquely meticulous in his preparation for this week-end. "Anderstorp was a mythical circuit in the 1970's, but I have never raced there and race videos shots there are hard to find!" Tiago explains, "when I'll get there on Thursday, I will do my usual reconnaissance: one lap walking, to get to know the track and its smallest characteristics, and then two laps jogging, in order to verify my notes and commit the track to memory."

Tiago kept up his ties with the F1 world at the Nürburgring last week end and actively prepared for the Anderstorp matchup with the same motivation and the same objectives as when he started in the WTCC. "I went to the Grand Prix of Europe to meet people, have discussions, and get ready for the future. Seeing F1 and some of the people was very nice, but I am even more happy to concentrate on Anderstorp. Since the start of the year, my objective has not changed: climb the podium and win a race. The first objective has been achieved, now I have to work on the next one!" Tiago adds. "It will be difficult but SEAT Sport is working well and hard and I hope to be able to pay them back with a good finish. It's a very competitive championship and you pay dearly for the slightest error."

"The team has reshuffled the deck for Anderstorp since SEAT Sport is the first team to go with diesel engines, as the regulations allow. Yvan Muller and Jordi Gené will drive the León diesels. In tests, the results are very good, and better performance than with petrol Leóns. Anderstorp will be a test event which could lead to others!"

The last parameter that the man from the land of sunshine will have to get used to in Sweden is the weather. The average temperature in Anderstorp this time of year is around 15°C and rainfall for the month of July is the second highest of the year, ten times greater than the rainfall in Porto. Showers will likely fall uninterrupted on Friday, the first day of tests. "Driving on a wet track doesn't bother me as long as the safety conditions are maintained. The show might benefit from it, and it can also level the playing field in terms of power, which is our weak point. On the other hand, the León's chassis is excellent and probably very agile on wet tracks, but it will be the first time for me."

Anderstorp will be telecast on Eurosport (cable and satellite)

Saturday 28/July :
Qualifying 19:00 -> 19:30 (UK time)

Sunday 29/July :
Warm-up 08:30 -> 09:00
Race 1 10:55 -> 12:40
Race 2 13:15:00 -> 14:00

-credit: tiagomonteiro.com

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