Hectic races for Tom Coronel on weekend in Argentina

For Tom Coronel, the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina didn’t bring the success he had hoped for during the eight race weekend of the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The free practice sessions at this circuit, new on the FIA WTCC calendar, brought a tenth and a 13th plac for the 41-year old Dutch driver.

Qualifying didn’t bring any real improvement and after a misunderstanding with team mate O’Young resulted into a 16th place on the starting grid for Coronel. Thus, the drivers of ROAL Motorsport’s two BMW 320 TCs also missed out on the top 12 qualifying session.

After the two formation laps for the first race, during which Tom Coronel also provided live commentary for the Eurosport TV audience from his BMW, the Dutchman improved to eighth on the opening lap of the race. However, in the hectic of the opening stages, there was some contact, too, and the right front wheel of his BMW got punctured as a result.

Coronel had no other option but to turn into the pits early. He had a good start into the second race, in which he eventually scored some points for finishing ninth. In the FIA WTCC drivers’ standings, Coronel is currently placed ninth with 100 points.

Tom Coronel