Tom Coronel

Tom Romeo Coronel (born 5 April 1972) is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, the Formula Nippon championship in 1999, and the 2006 and 2009 World Touring Car Championship Independents' Trophy. As of September 2016, Tom Coronel has driven over 1,000 races.

Coronel is currently still racing in the WTCC, where he won his first WTCC race in Okayama, Japan in 2008. After competing as an independent driver in a SEAT for many years Tom switched to BMW in 2011. In 2014, Coronel stayed with ROAL Motorsport, but the team switched to Chevrolet Cruzes to be built by RML specially for the new TC1 technical regulations. Even though he has no official factory backing, Coronel is no longer considered an independent driver, due to his experience and results in the past. Coronel has also been racing for the Dutch Spyker Squadron in the Le Mans Series as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans for many years. Furthermore, Coronel is often invited to join one-off races like the 24 hours at the Nürburgring.

Biography

Early years Born in Naarden, Coronel started his racing career in 1990 racing in the Dutch Citroën AX Cup, after being named the most talented driver in the local racing school. After a learning debut year, he started to become successful in 1991. With four victories and 105 points he won the title; he also won an international Citroën AX race in Barcelona. He moved up to the Dutch Touring Car Championship in 1992 competing in a BMW 320i. He was crowned champion that same year, beating his older brother and teammate Raymond Coronel. He also started to compete in the Dutch Formula Ford championship, with team Fresh. At the end of 1992 he decided to focus his attention on single seater racing.

Coronel stayed with team Fresh in 1993 and again was a strong competitor. Victorious in three races, he won the Dutch Formula Ford championship that year. Also he came in second in the Benelux championship, behind the Belgian driver Geoffroy Horion (who lost the Dutch championship to Coronel). His participation in a few German Formula Ford races resulted in a handful of podium finishes. He finished ninth in that year's Formula Ford Festival.

European formula In 1994, Coronel debuted in the Euroseries Formula Opel Lotus, racing for the Dutch Van Amersfoort Racing team. With eight pole positions and two victories he was successful, but lost the championship to Marco Campos. He won the nations cup for the Netherlands together with Donny Crevels and was elected 'Dutch Driver of the year'. This gave him the funds he needed to compete in the next year's German Formula Three championship.

Racing for the WTS team (which delivered previous champions as Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen), he was teamed up with Ralf Schumacher. The team used a Dallara chassis which was powered by Opel engines. Scoring 74 points in sixteen races, he finished seventh in the championship results. He did not perform well in the international Formula Three classics, failing to finish in Macau and Monaco and finishing fifth in the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort.

Moving to the Far East Coronel decided to search for success far from home, signing up to compete in the Japanese Formula 3 championship with team TOM'S for 1996. He scored his first victory at the Sugo circuit, and this along with five second places earned him the third spot in that year's championship. He came in second with the Italian Prema Power team at the annual Monaco Formula Three race.

Coronel stayed with TOM'S for the next season, the team traded in their own chassis for a more competitive Dallara and used Toyota engines. Coronel dominated the championship, winning six out of the seven races he competed in. His lead was so comfortable that he could afford to miss two races to compete in the Macau Grand Prix and Marlboro Masters. Earlier in the year he was taken out in the leading position at the Monaco Formula Three race, but he was successful for his home crowd in Zandvoort. Starting from the fourth position he drove his way to the lead and followed through until the finish, becoming the second Dutchman to win the event after Jos Verstappen.

Formula Nippon It was time for Coronel to move to the next level. He stayed in Japan in 1998 competing in the Formula Nippon and Japanese GT championship, both for team Nakajima owned by former Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima.

Driving with a Reynard-Toyota combination, his first Formula Nippon season was expected to be a learning year. Coronel had a relatively poor season, due to some bad luck and the team having never previously worked with a non-Japanese driver. He performed much better in the GT championship. Sharing a Honda NSX with Japanese driver Koji Yamanishi the title was in sight until the last race. Eventually they finished second when the car broke down in the formation lap of the last race.

No changes in Coronel's programme were seen for 1999. In Formula Nippon he proved to be a strong contender for the championship title. At first his main rival reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama build up an advantage over Coronel. But during the year Coronel fought his way back to the front of the championship. Winning his first race at Fuji Speedway he led Motoyama with four points into the last race at Suzuka. Driving side by side a slow starting Coronel and Motoyama crashed into each other in the first corner of the race. Since there were no other competitors for the title Coronel was instantly (but controversially) champion. He was not as successful in the Japanese GT that year, having no chances on the title. Tom made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jan Lammers' Racing for Holland. Teaming up with Lammers and Peter Kox the team kept up with the factory teams, but had to stop after 213 laps due to technical failure.

Formula 1 test After his Japanese successes, Coronel had gained some attention and he decided to focus his energy on finding a Formula One seat. In order to finance his Formula One ambitions, an investment plan was initiated. People could invest in Coronel by buying stocks in 'the Racing Dutchman B.V.'. When Coronel would become successful in Formula One, investors would be repaid. Eventually the plan failed because some of the investors failed to meet the agreements. Coronel tested once for the Arrows team, but lost the chance for a seat in favour of Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa. Since Coronel had focused his full attention to Formula One, he found himself without a drive for the beginning of the 2000 racing season. He drove the 24 hours of Le Mans for the second time with Racing for Holland and competed in some FIA GT races with Mike Hezemans.

Return to racing With little racing distance covered the previous year, Coronel wanted to race a full season in 2001. He signed up for the works BMW team to compete in the Dutch Touring Car Championship. Just for the start of the season, he was contacted by Lister to compete in the FIA GT Championship. Coronel agreed but had to miss some races since he already signed for BMW. He won races in both championships that year. Also he would compete with Stefan Johansson's team at Le Mans that year, but Johansson retired in the first part of the race.

Coronel moved to the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) in 2002, he participated for Carly Motors alongside Peter Kox and Gianni Morbidelli. They could not keep up with the works teams, but Coronel still harvested three podium finishes. He stayed with Carly in 2003 but had a 2002 spec chassis for most of the season and struggling to keep up. He and Duncan Huisman won the independents trophy for Carly Motors. He also made a one-year return to the Japanese GT, winning one race in a now outdated Honda NSX. The 2004 ETCC season was very similar for him, although his teammate was now Paulien Zwart, his partner. They won the independents team trophy for the second consecutive year and Coronel won the independent drivers title. He finished his first Le Mans race with Racing for Holland in 2002, finishing eighth in the overall standings. He also made the finish in 2003, this time with a Spyker C8. Returning to Racing for Holland in 2004 he formed a high-profile line up with Justin Wilson and Ralph Firman. However they failed to finish the race. There were some rumours that he had signed a third driver deal with Minardi, but there was never a contract.

World Touring Car Championship Coronel driving the SEAT León TFSI in the second race at the 2008 WTCC Race of Japan in Okayama. He managed to hold off a charging Augusto Farfus and won his first WTCC race. The European Touring Car Championship changed its format to a World Championship in 2005 and Coronel moved teams. He left Carly to join up with Team GR Asia, which used the SEAT Toledo. Coronel had a strong year in which he just missed the Independents trophy in the last race. His luck changed for the better in 2006. With the all new SEAT León he did clinch the title, his second in three seasons. He continued his participation with team GR Asia in 2007, though less successful. For the final round of the 2007 British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, he raced for SEAT Sport UK to help them win the team's championship and the drivers championship for Jason Plato. In both 2005 and 2006 he drove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Spyker, but failed to finish in both attempts.

In 2008, Coronel competed in the brand-new SUNRED SEAT Team in another León. He got his podium in Oschersleben and remains one of the most popular WTCC drivers. Autosport magazine voted him as one of the 10 best WTCC drivers. In the second race at the Race of Japan, on the Okayama International Circuit, an absolutely stunning drive brought him his first victory in the WTCC.

In 2009, Coronel was eligible for the Independents' Trophy, which he won for Sunred. In 2010, he was driving a turbo diesel León for the new semi-works SR-Sport team, which was run by Sunred. He finished the season eighth, his highest ever. In 2011, Coronel changed teams to join ROAL Motorsport, formerly running the works-team BMW Italy-Spain. Tom won the second race at Suzuka, Japan, his second WTCC overall victory. Coronel stayed with ROAL Motorsport for 2012, this time as part of a two car effort with Alberto Cerqui joining him in the team.

Dakar Rally (2009–present) Coronel and his twin brother Tim competed in the 2009 edition of the Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile (Buenos Aires–Valparaíso–Buenos Aires). This was Tom's first edition of Dakar, whereas brother Tim already competed in 2007 and was lined up for the 2008 edition which got cancelled at the last moment. The brothers were driving a Bowler Nemesis for the dakarsport.com outfit and backed to Buenos Aires in 70th position overall after crossing two countries in 15 stages for a total of 6,000 km from January 3–18.

Other activities The Coronel family owns two indoor go-karting tracks in Huizen and Enschede. Tom co-hosts an automotive programme with Tim and was a regular guest on the Dutch Formula One broadcast until RTL decided not to go on with the studio shows, in favour of more "on track" time during the broadcast. Tom also worked for Ziggo Sport and Viaplay during their Formula One broadcasts.

Coronel is in a relationship with racing driver Paulien Zwart and they have a daughter and a son (Rocco) together. The pair were teammates at Carly Motors in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship season. Pauline is the daughter of Ascari Cars owner Klaas Zwart, who also raced for Carly in 2004. Rocco Coronel is also a racing driver currently racing in karting and the Ginetta Junior Championship and member of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete German Formula Three results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Pts 1996 TOM'S ToyotaSUZTSUMINFUJSUZSUGSENSUZFUJ 3rd 33 1997 TOM'S Toyota SUZ TSU MIN FUJ SUZ SUG SEN MOT FUJ SUZ 1st 60

Complete JGTC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Nippon results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Super Production Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Pts 2001 Carly Motors BMW 320i MNZ BRN MAG SIL ZOL HUN A1R NÜR JAR EST 15th 12

Complete European Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Pts 2002 Carly Motors BMW 320i MAG1 MAG2 SIL1 SIL2 BRN1 BRN2 JAR1 JAR2 AND1 AND2 OSC1 OSC2 SPA1 SPA2 PER1 PER2 DON1 DON2 EST1 EST2 7th 16 2003 Carly Motors BMW 320i VAL1 VAL2 MAG1 MAG2 PER1 PER2 BRN1 BRN2 DON1 DON2 SPA1 SPA2 AND1 AND2 OSC1 OSC2 EST1 EST2 MNZ1 MNZ2 10th 27 2004 Carly Motors BMW 320i MNZ1 MNZ2 VAL1 VAL2 MAG1 MAG2 HOC1 HOC2 BRN1 BRN2 DON1 DON2 SPA1 SPA2 IMO1 IMO2 OSC1 OSC2 DUB1 DUB2 12th 25

Complete World Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points 2005 GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra ITA1 ITA2 FRA1 FRA2 GBR1 GBR2 SMR1 SMR2 MEX1 MEX2 BEL1 BEL2 GER1 GER2 TUR1 TUR2 ESP1 ESP2 MAC1 MAC2 14th 11 2006 GR Asia SEAT Toledo Cupra ITA1 ITA2 FRA1 FRA2 17th 20 SEAT León GBR1 GBR2 GER1 GER2 BRA1 BRA2 MEX1 MEX2 CZE1 CZE2 TUR1 TUR2 ESP1 ESP2 MAC1 MAC2 2007 GR Asia SEAT León BRA1 BRA2 NED1 NED2 ESP1 ESP2 FRA1 FRA2 CZE1 CZE2 POR1 POR2 SWE1 SWE2 GER1 GER2 GBR1 GBR2 ITA1 ITA2 MAC1 MAC2 13th 29 2008 SUNRED Racing Development SEAT León TFSI BRA1 BRA2 MEX1 MEX2 ESP1 ESP2 FRA1 FRA2 CZE1 CZE2 POR1 POR2 GBR1 GBR2 GER1 GER2 EUR1 EUR2 ITA1 ITA2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 14th 35 2009 SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TFSI BRA1 BRA2 MEX1 MEX2 MAR1 MAR2 FRA1 FRA2 ESP1 ESP2 CZE1 CZE2 POR1 POR2 GBR1 GBR2 GER1 GER2 ITA1 ITA2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 14th 15 2010 SR-Sport SEAT León TDI BRA1 BRA2 MAR1 MAR2 ITA1 ITA2 BEL1 BEL2 POR1 POR2 GBR1 GBR2 CZE1 CZE2 GER1 GER2 ESP1 ESP2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 8th 136 2011 ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC BRA1 BRA2 BEL1 BEL2 ITA1 ITA2 HUN1 HUN2 CZE1 CZE2 POR1 POR2 GBR1 GBR2 GER1 GER2 ESP1 ESP2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 MAC1 MAC2 4th 233 2012 ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC ITA1 ITA2 ESP1 ESP2 MAR1 MAR2 SVK1 SVK2 HUN1 HUN2 AUT1 AUT2 POR1 POR2 BRA1 BRA2 USA1 USA2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 MAC1 MAC2 5th 207 2013 ROAL Motorsport BMW 320 TC ITA1 ITA2 MAR1 MAR2 SVK1 SVK2 HUN1 HUN2 AUT1 AUT2 RUS1 RUS2 POR1 POR2 ARG1 ARG2 USA1 USA2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 MAC1 MAC2 10th 163 2014 ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 MAR1 MAR2 FRA1 FRA2 HUN1 HUN2 SVK1 SVK2 AUT1 AUT2 RUS1 RUS2 BEL1 BEL2 ARG1 ARG2 BEI1 BEI2 CHN1 CHN2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 7th 159 2015 ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 ARG114† ARG2 MAR1 MAR2 HUN1 HUN2 GER1 GER2 RUS1 RUS2 SVK1 SVK2 FRA1 FRA2 POR1 POR2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 THA1 THA2 QAT1 QAT2 13th 39 2016 ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 FRA1 FRA2 SVK1 SVK2 HUN1 HUN2 MAR1 MAR2 GER1 GER2 RUS1 RUS2 POR1 POR2 ARG1 ARG2 JPN1 JPN2 CHN1 CHN2 QAT1 QAT2 11th 111 2017 ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 MAR1 MAR2 ITA1 ITA2 HUN1 HUN2 GER1 GER2 POR1 POR2 ARG1 ARG2 CHN17† CHN2 JPN1 JPN2 MAC1 MAC2 QAT1 QAT2 11th 69 † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) ( signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Pts 2007 SEAT Sport UK SEAT León BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 ROC1 ROC2 ROC3 THR1 THR2 THR3 CRO1 CRO2 CRO3 OUL1 OUL2 OUL3 DON1 DON2 DON3 SNE1 SNE2 SNE3 BRH1 BRH2 BRH3 KNO1 KNO2 KNO3 THR1 THR2 THR3 17th 10

Complete TCR International Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2017 Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR RIM1 RIM2 BHR1 BHR2 SPA1 SPA2 MNZ1 MNZ2 SAL1 SAL2 HUN1 HUN2 OSC1 OSC2 CHA1 CHA2 ZHE1 ZHE2 DUB1 DUB2 31st 4

Complete World Touring Car Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points 2018 Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR MAR1 MAR2 MAR3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 GER1 GER2 GER3 NED1 NED2 NED3 POR1 POR2 POR3 SVK1 SVK2 SVK3 CHN1 CHN2 CHN3 WUH1 WUH2 WUH3 JPN1 JPN2 JPN3 MAC1 MAC2 MAC3 23rd 24 2019 Comtoyou Team DHLCUPRA Racing CUPRA León TCR MAR1 MAR2 MAR3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 SVK1 SVK2 SVK3 NED1 NED2 NED3 GER1 GER2 GER3 POR1 POR2 POR3 CHN1 CHN2 CHN3 JPN1 JPN2 JPN3 MAC1 MAC2 MAC3 MAL1 MAL2 MAL3 22nd 63 2020 Comtoyou DHLTeam Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS TCR BEL1 BEL2 GER1 GER2 SVK1 SVK2 SVK3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 ESP1 ESP2 ESP3 ARA1 ARA2 ARA3 11th 117 2021 Comtoyou DHLTeam Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS TCR GER1 GER2 POR1 POR2 ESP1 ESP2 HUN1 HUN2 CZE1 CZE2 FRA1 FRA2 ITA1 ITA2 RUS1 RUS2 16th 83 2022 Comtoyou DHLTeam Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS TCR FRA1 FRA2 GER1 GER2 HUN1 HUN2 ESP1 ESP2 POR1 POR2 ITA1 ITA2 ALS1 ALS2 BHR1 BHR2 SAU1 SAU2 10th 115 † Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 2019 Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR HUN1 HUN2 HOC1 HOC2 SPA1 SPA2 RBR1 RBR2 OSC1 OSC2 CAT1 CAT2 MNZ1 MNZ2 12th 137 2020 Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) LEC1 LEC2 ZOL1 ZOL2 MNZ1 MNZ2 CAT1 CAT2 SPA1 SPA2 JAR1 JAR2 16th 100 2021 Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR SVK1 SVK2 LEC1 LEC2 ZAN1 ZAN2 SPA1 SPA2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MNZ1 MNZ2 CAT1 CAT2 4th 258 2022 Comtoyou DHLTeam Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS TCR ALG1 ALG2 LEC1 LEC2 SPA1 SPA2 NOR1 NOR2 NÜR1 NÜR2 MNZ1 MNZ2 CAT1 CAT2 2nd 316 2023 Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR ALG1 ALG2 PAU1 PAU2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 LEC1 LEC2 MNZ1 MNZ2 CAT1 CAT2 1st 468

TCR Spa 500 results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2019 Red Camel-Jordans.nl Ivo Breukers Rik Breukers Pepe Oriola CUPRA León TCR P 454 1st 1st

Complete TCR World Tour results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2023 Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR ALG1 ALG2 SPA1 SPA2 VAL1 VAL2 HUN1 HUN2 ELP1 ELP2 VIL1 VIL2 SYD1 SYD2 SYD3 BAT1 BAT2 BAT3 MAC1 MAC2 13th 76