Tiago Monteiro says 2016 Honda Civic will show the biggest step forward

Honda driver Tiago Monteiro believes the upgrades for the 2016 specification Honda Civic will see the biggest improvement to date for the Japanese marque as they look to close the gap on Citroën in the French manufacturer’s final year in the championship, but is himself not yet assured of a seat with the team for this year.

Monteiro took two wins on his way to seventh in the 2015 drivers’ standings, losing out on a third victory in Thailand due to a technical infringement. The Portuguese driver believes the latter part of 2015 was one of his best showings in the WTCC.

“I’m quite optimistic about my season,” said Monteiro to TouringCarTimes. “I wish we could have fought more for the first races of course, but the championship is the way it is and you score as many points for the win in race two.

“We did improve throughout the season, we went in a good direction, and at some tracks we were in a very good position. I’m very happy with this evolution. Of course we want more, but we discovered a lot of things with the car that you can’t see yet, but it will help us for the future. I think this winter will be the biggest step change we will see with the Honda.”

Honda recently confirmed that Gabriele Tarquini will depart the team for 2016, with speculation now placing 2012 champion Rob Huff at Honda, while Monteiro’s position at the outfit is also not confirmed for this year.

“I’d love to go on with this family, it’s been three and a half years now already,” said Monteiro, who joined the Honda programme at the start during the final rounds of the 2012 season. “I know there’s a lot more to do and we can improve, but it’s in their hands to decide.”