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Third place for BMW driver Tom Coronel in FIA WTCC races Shanghai

Having started from tenth place, Tom Coronel managed to finish a creditable fourth in the first race of the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) at the Grand Prix circuit in Shanghai (China). For the second race, the 40-year old Dutch driver started from pole position with his ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC and in this race, he also finished fourth behind the three dominant works-Chevrolet Cruzes. However, a 30 seconds' time penalty made Yvan Muller drop back in the classification, so that Tom Coronel still received the trophy for third place. In the battle for the world championship, the Dutchman is now fifth with one double-header weekend remaining (Macau, November 16^th till 18^th). At Shanghai, he did make up a couple of points on Gabriele Tarquini, who is fourth in the standings.

After the race, Tom Coronel said: "We tried, but there is no way to beat the Chevrolets. No matter what you do and how you do it, they will overtake you anyway. They are just like the Smurfs, they show up every time you don't expect them, and on the straights, they overtake you like you are in a parking zone. They can even pick the corner in which they overtake you. Nevertheless, I am far from unhappy. Bearing in mind that there is nothing we can do about Chevy's dominance, unless they start taking each other out, fourth place is the best we could achieve. Yvan Muller's penalty, and my third place in race 2 is an unexpected, but nice bonus."

"Perhaps, I could have done better in the first race, but I had to come a long way and there was plenty of action happening in front of me in the first couple of corners. I managed to steer clear of it, but I was still hit by Turkington. Thus, I was behind two Chevrolets and D'Aste's BMW. The gap was big, but I closed up towards the end of the race. I didn't succeed in claiming the final podium slot from D'Aste."

"With some gambling in qualifying I managed to end up tenth and thus was on pole position for race two because of the reversed grid ruling. With the experience from Japan in my mind, I was really focussed on the start and had a great getaway. I really managed to pull a gap on the rest of the field and I had a good feeling. Then, however, the 'blue train' showed up in my mirrors after four laps and overtook me like I was standing still. These guys really have so much excess power that there isn't even a way to start a battle with them. After that, things got exciting once again, because I had a first-hand view to watch their internal battle. Secretly, I hoped for them to take each other out, which would make me end up further to the front. It really looked like that for a while, but even then, they were able to hold on to their positions without much ado. There is no way racing them. Too bad, of course, but still a trophy and valuable points for the world championship."

"Moreover, I was happy with my car. We were on the pace from the very beginning, but we know that there is simply no way to beat the Chevrolets. Now, we are preparing for Macau. That will be another thrilling event where you can't predict the outcome. When the ROAL BMW is just as good there as it was here, I am really confident. However, the thing is, you need a little bit of luck there, too."

Result Race 1:
1. Alain Menu 13 laps in 25:12.369
2. Rob Huff +1.500 (both Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 T)
3. Stefano D'Aste (BMW 320 TC) +11.192
4. Tom Coronel (ROAL MOTORSPORT BMW 320 TC) +13.327
5. Gabriele Tarquini +15.653
6. Tom Boardman +26.382 (both SEAT LEON WTCC)

Result Race 2:
1. Rob Huff 13 laps in 25:17.714
2. Alain Menu +2.698
3. Tom Coronel (ROAL MOTORSPORT BMW 320 TC) +4.378
4. Stefano D'Aste (BMW 320 TC) +4.866
5. Mehdi Bennani (BMW 320 TC) +5.574

Drivers' standings after 22 rounds:
1. Rob Huff, 390 points
2. Alain Menu, 355
3. Yvan Muller, 349
4. Gabriele Tarquini, 238
5. Tom Coronel, 199

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.

Photo gallery: WTCC Shanghai Circuit