WTCC 2017 – Monteiro withdraws from WTCC Race of Japan

FIA World Touring Car Championship title contender Tiago Monteiro has sadly been forced to withdraw from this weekend’s event in Japan on medical advice.

The Portuguese driver had to miss last weekend’s event in China as he had not yet fully recovered from the effects of a high-speed testing incident at the Circuit de Barcelona in September.

Following further examinations, he has now been advised by doctors to remain at home in Portugal and continue his recovery for the time being.

A stand-in driver will be named in due course.

Tiago Monteiro said: “This is one of the most disappointing moments of my career. As a team, we’ve worked so hard to get ourselves into a championship-winning position, and to see it slipping away like this is very tough to deal with. The most frustrating thing is that the recovery is actually going very well; it’s just that time is against me, but all of these things are motivating me to come back even stronger when the time is right. I have to thank the incredible medical team that are working with me every day – we share a common goal to return to racing as soon as possible – and everybody who has sent me kind messages of support through this difficult time.”