MOGYORÓD (18 Juni 2023) – The two TCR Europe Series races at Hungaroring saw Tom Coronel finished second of the regular competitors in the European competition. As a result, he scored many points again, enabling the driver of the Audi RS 3 LMS in Tricorp colours, run by Belgian team Comtoyou Racing, to extend his points’ lead in the drivers’ standings. “A seriously good weekend,” Coronel called it as a result.

With 40 kilograms of additional weight on board following his outstanding achievements during the previous race weekend, Coronel already knew beforehand that the Hungaroring round wasn’t going to be particularly easy for him. “Moreover, Hungaroring isn’t a circuit that really suits the Audi, we rather need fast corners for our car, much unlike the characteristics of the Hungaroring.” Therefore, it was clear to Coronel that he wouldn’t be able to keep the drivers from the TCR World Tour, mixing in the field of the TCR Europe Series for the third time this season, at bay. Nevertheless, Coronel made the best of it in Hungary as well, with a very good outcome.

Coronel started the weekend with 17th and 11th place in the two free practice sessions in the rain, making him sixth and second among regular TCR Europe Series drivers. “I didn’t expect to score well here, so even that wasn’t too bad in the end. Later on, qualifying went quite well, although the gaps in terms of lap times were quite big. I was 13th overall and third among the European drivers. I think we got the most out of it. I just missed out on Q2 (reserved for the twelve fastest drivers, ed.), but that in turn meant that I still had a set of tyres left, which I could use for the races.”

In the first race, Coronel started on fresh tyres and, in his own words, had a “mega-good” start, after which he was tenth on the opening lap. He managed to defend his position well until the closing stages, when his teammate Kobe Pauwels passed him. Thus, Coronel finished 11th overall and second in the ranking of those competing in the European series. “It was tough on the tyres though, you clearly noticed that our car was heavier, so I had to pay more attention to driving neat and clean,” he noted.

On Sunday, in the summer heat, Coronel had another good start, but he had to swerve when a car in front of him stopped. “As a result, I had some wheelspin. Then I arrived at the first corner, where it was one big chaos: drivers in front of me were going off in all directions! I had to pass on the left side through the grass at full speed. Then the safety car was deployed, at which point I was fourth among the European drivers. Of course I didn’t like that! I went into attack mode, managed to pass Ceccon first and then battled Andersson, but I heard from the team that he had been handed a five-second time penalty anyway, so I didn’t take any risks. The same went for Ma, who really pushed on the final lap. As he is a World Tour regular and is no threat to me, I let him pass. As a result, I finished ninth overall and second for the European series.” With this good score, Coronel is happy looking back on the race weekend: “Two trophies to take home, a pair of second-place finishes and a good points haul. Just great! I am now 44 points ahead of Filippi, who is second in the championship, which was 18 points going into this weekend, so I did good business!” The next race weekend of the TCR Europe Series will be held from 21 to 23 July at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet in the south of France. “That’s where I won in the European series last year and also the race at the FIA Motorsport Games, so I’m going there with a good feeling!”