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Tiago Monteiro doubted his racing comeback would ever happen

World Touring Car Cup racer Tiago Monteiro says he had fears the testing shunt that sidelined him for more than a year would prevent him from returning to racing altogether.

Monteiro crashed while testing for the Honda World Touring Car Championship outfit when the brakes on his TC1 Civic failed approaching the first corner at Barcelona.

He had led the WTCC drivers' standings at the time of his crash but was forced to miss the remainder of that season, and earlier this year postponed his return indefinitely as he continued his recovery.

Monteiro finally returned at Suzuka in October, racing for the Boutsen Ginion Honda outfit in the new-for-2018 WTCR world cup.

But he said initial uncertainty about the extent of his injuries left him questioning whether he could make a comeback.

"It actually looks a bit stupid to think I could have come back in 2017 when you look at how long it took," Monteiro told Autosport. "What the fuck were we thinking?

"But then again, I think it was intentional from the doctors and from my entourage to actually keep me motivated.

"It's such a random and difficult thing - it's not like when you break something, you know it's going to be a month or whatever. These are neurological issues and maybe the brain cannot make a connection anymore with the eyes and I'm like this forever. It's impossible to be sure.

"During that period, there were some times when I was doubtful. Especially the six months bracket, where I was starting to feel some evolution but really slow.

"Six, seven months I started to feel some evolution on the eyes, in my body. But everything was so sore and painful. It was really difficult to get an idea of how much it was going to evolve.

"I honestly started to think about it - I'm 42, had a 20-year career, maybe this is my time.

"I had to think about it and be sure. But then every time I was thinking about it the motivation of coming back was with me.

"So even if one day I would wake up pissed off and sore and lacking motivation, the next day or the afternoon I was like, 'Fuck it, none of that'."

Monteiro's layoff included him being asked by doctors to skip a planned outing in the Spa 24 Hours in Honda's NSX GT3, which he said added to his concerns over the likelihood of a return.

"During this summer, after July with the [Spa] 24 Hours, I was like, 'Fuck, if the doctor keeps pushing it [back], does it mean there is something wrong and I can't come back?'" he said.

"There were some days in August, I woke up a few days thinking that I should stop. What's the point? What do I need to do, what am I going to do?

"And then, again, the next day I thought fuck it, I'm still a racer. This is what I like to do the most."

Zdroj: autosport.com