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BMW driver Tom Coronel scores valuable points in FIA WTCC races at Curitiba, Brazil

For the eighth racing weekend of the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship, the cars had been shipped to Curitiba in Brazil. Here, the second part of the season got underway with a double-header meeting at the 3.695 kilometres long track. Tom Coronel had good results in the practice sessions, dominated by the Chevrolets. The time differences were very small and there were many position changes in the top ten. For the first race, the 40-year old Dutch driver qualified ninth and he managed to gain one place in the race. With the reversed grid-ruling, Tom Coronel started from the front row for race two, lining up alongside fellow BMW driver Norbert Michelisz, the Hungarian driver, with whom he was already battling in the first race. With his ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC, Coronel had a good start and was second, just ahead of Tarquini. On lap two, the Italian overtook him and soon after that, Coronel slid off the racing line. After that, several other drivers overtook him and he dropped back to ninth. In the closing stages, he managed to make his way up to seventh. In spite of the valuable points he scored, Coronel still lost one place in the drivers' standings to Gabriele Tarquini.

"This was a really difficult weekend," Coronel said afterwards. "The track was really slippery. In such conditions, you always know that front-wheel driven cars have an advantage, because they have better traction accelerating out of the corners. I was also driving less fast than last year, just because of the lack of grip on the track. That also explains why I, just like several others, was off the track more than once, driving through the grass and even once spinning on the main straight. That is nothing I normally do! When you know that, you do everything to control the damage and still score as many points as possible. I couldn't have done much more, which is also proven by the fact that I was the fastest with a rear-wheel driven car and the best-placed BMW driver. In qualifying, we took a risk by waiting as long as possible before going out. We knew that the track was getting cleaner and cleaner and getting out at a late stage enables you to make the best use of the tyres. The margins looked good, but there is not much we can do against the Chevrolet train."

"I started ninth for race one and apart from a minor incident in the early stages, it was a race in which I could do nothing more. Damage control while knowing that I was starting second into race two and just hoping for things to get better. My left front tyre locked up several times, causing more and more flat spots. I was again the best-placed BMW driver."

"In race two, I had a good start, but I wasn't able to keep Tarquini at bay and it was clear to see how quickly he pulled a gap once he had overtaken me. After that, I made a mistake myself which got me on the dirty part of the track. I couldn't slot in and before I could look, I was eighth behind Bennani and Nykjaer. The two were involved in a big battle and that was an opportunity for me to gain a position. That happened two corners before the end. I overtook Bennani and finished seventh. Good for the points, but I wasn't really able to race. On the other hand, there was no damage to the car either, which is good. Let's hope for things to get better in the remaining races!"

A video with Tom's race weekend in Curitiba is available HERE

Result Race 1:
1. Yvan Muller 15 laps in 22:05.549
2. Alain Menu +0.398
3. Rob Huff +0.933 (all Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 T)
4. Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT Leon WTCC) +2.767
5. Michel Nykjaer (Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 T) +5.656
and 8. Tom Coronel (ROAL MOTORSPORT BMW 320 TC) +15.552

Result race 2:
1. Rob Huff 16 laps in 23.49.750
2. Alain Menu +1.099 (both Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 T)
3. Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT LEON WTCC) +1.496
4. Yvan Muller (Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 T) +1.758
5. Norbert Michelisz (BMW 320 TC) +4.958
and 7. Tom Coronel (ROAL MOTORSPORT BMW 320 TC) +14.072

Drivers' standings after 16 races:
1.Yvan Muller 287 points
2. Robert Huff 270
3. Alain Menu 250
4. Gabriele Tarquini 162
and 5. Tom Coronel 150

In the 2012 FIA WTCC season, Tom Coronel is being supported by: McGregor, TW Steel -big in oversized watches-, AkzoNobel stickerfix^tm , De Wild signing, Loading Systems, Boretti, Intrax, Holiday Cars, Saarloos, Hanscan and Beelen