Contrary to his hope, Tiago Monteiro will not be able to race in China this coming weekend.
The physical problems resulting from his crash in Barcelona testing last month will not allow the Portuguese driver to travel to China and participate in the upcoming WTCC weekend.
This outcome comes after a series of medical examinations that concluded that racing this soon would be too risky.
Therefore, Tiago will be replaced b y Honda by his friend and former team-mate, Gabriel Tarquini.
The cerebral edema suffered in the accident has not disappeared completely yet and together with slight limitations in his vision and cervical pain brought about the decision from Tiago's medical team that for his personal wellbeing, he needs to remain in Portugal and continue his recovery program.
"This is not what I wanted to hear from the doctors, I did not want to fail this test and did everything I could to recover in time. But the human body is like that, it needs time and it has limitations and I understand that what is more important than anything else is my state of health. I may have failed this test, but I hope to be able to pass the next. I will not give up, I will continue with all the treatments advised by my doctors and help my body continue to heal," he said.
Gabriel Tarquini was Honda and Tiago's choice as a substitute for this event:
"Tarquini is an excellent driver as we all know, and he is also a great friend and I know that he will do everything to be successful and give the team the best result, "he concluded.
The Portuguese driver will now continue his medical recovery program in order to line up for the Japanese round from October 27 to 29.
