European Le Mans
Portimao: Tiago Monteiro preview
Monteiro heads to the 1000 km of Algarve Tiago joins Team Oreca for a round of the Le Mans Series Seven weeks after taking part in the 24 hr of Le Mans in the LMP1 category, Tiago Monteiro is taking up a new challenge with the TEAM Oreca, that ...
Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:37 PM
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Monteiro heads to the 1000 km of Algarve
Tiago joins Team Oreca for a round of the Le Mans Series
Seven weeks after taking part in the 24 hr of Le Mans in the LMP1 category, Tiago Monteiro is taking up a new challenge with the TEAM Oreca, that of the 1000km of Algarve. The next round on the calendar of the Le Mans Series will be disputed on the International Motor Racing track of Algarve, an event that will also last into the night. Added to the thrill of night racing, Tiago will also have the opportunity of discovering the new layout located in the south of Portugal. Bruno Senna will share the driving duties with Tiago, the talented nephew of Ayrton also taking part in the recent 24hr event alongside the Portuguese when he had the opportunity to learn the ropes with the Oreca team as well as endurance racing.
Tiago is planning to use this event with Oreca and its prototype to have a different outcome that the one from Le Mans where he was unable to see the finish after one of his teammates had an off track excursion in the early hours of the morning. "To race at home is always a privilege for me," Tiago says, "I raced in Oporto earlier this month, in the WTCC and this time I'm heading south. I'm looking forward to race on the Autodrom of Algarve for the first time. Our car is competitive and we have the ambition of securing a good result. Our main rivals will be the Aston Martin and the Audi R10, but we will fight until the end."
Tiago will race the same prototype that he did in the 24HR of Le Mans, the Oreca LLC 70-AIM where they had a very positive partnership that served as the basis for this new collaboration, one that both sides hope will be profitable. "I want to thank Hugues de Chaunac for this invitation which comes with a big responsibility. A big thanks to SEAT Sport and SEAT Portugal too, for having given me the green light to do this. This is an important step and I want to be up and ready for the challenge. I hope I will be able to bring some pleasure to the fans in Algarve as well as pay back Team Oreca for their warm welcome and their confidence."
The 1000km of Algarve will have a completely different profile to that of the Le Mans 24 hours and here Tiago explains his priorities for the night stage in Portimão. "Qualifying won't be a concern in this type of race. We will try to be in a good position on the starting grid but it won't be our main priority because after qualifying there will be 1000km to cover. There will be a big question mark because we will need to learn the track, it's shorter than Le Mans' and it will be full with 50 cars, which means we will have to handle overtaking really carefully. There will be not time out, the greatest care will have to be taken but at the same time you don't want to slow down, you want to keep a good race pace."
The 1000km of Algarve will be held under clear skies with a maximum temperature of 24o.C during the day and 20o.C at night. The event will run from July 31 to August 2. Eurosport will broadcast the start and the first 90 minutes live on Saturday at 19:00, and will return at 23:45 until the chequered flag at around 1:00 on Sunday morning.
-credit: tiagomonteiro.com
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