EEMNES (10 April 2024) – “After winning the title in the TCR Europe Series, it was about time for a new adventure,” driver Tom Coronel thought. That adventure becomes reality this season with a full racing programme on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the illustrious circuit in the Eifel region that Tom Coronel unhesitatingly describes as “the most beautiful track in the world”. Besides a number of four-hour races, the annual 24-hour race (31 May-2 June) is the undisputed highlight of the season. Coronel forms a team with Portuguese former Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro and his two fellow-Dutchmen Jan Jaap van Roon and Paul Meijer. The quartet will be racing in the strong Cup2 class with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup run by Max Kruse Racing, the team owned by the former member of the German national football team.

When asked what is so great about the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Tom Coronel sparkles with enthusiasm. “Just driving there, I already have one big smile on my face! It’s the coolest circuit of all. You have everything there: fast corners, slow corners, long straights, undulation… And then you can also encounter all kinds of weather conditions: fog, rain, snow… Really extreme conditions, where you think: ‘This just can’t be true’, but on the Nordschleife it’s all possible! It really is addictive, you just have to have experienced that once!”

In recent years, Tom Coronel has already driven together with Jan Jaap van Roon at the Nürburgring several times. Once again, the Amsterdam-based IT entrepreneur is part of the team. Van Room says: “It is not all that long ago that I chose racing as a hobby. I started in 2019 and I am fortunate to have Tom helping me as a coach. After one of many days of driving at Zandvoort, we were chatting, and I asked what the most beautiful track is. Tom didn’t have to think about that for a second and the answer was resolutely ‘the Nordschleife’. That came out with so much passion that only a few weeks later I already did my first laps there. So that really had to be something. And there’s nothing exaggerated about it. It really is the most amazing, challenging track you can imagine. I was instantly hooked. We race in the 992 Cup because it’s a very competitive and big field. So here you also need a good team. And that worked out this year!”

Paul Meijer has plenty of experience with the Porsche 911 GT3 in Cup specification after a season of racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, but the Nordschleife is largely new territory for the real estate entrepreneur from the Utrecht region. “I am currently still in the process of getting my permit, which is required to race on the Nordschleife,” says Meijer. “My first test and race kilometres make me eager for more! I am super grateful and very happy with the opportunity Tom, Jan Jaap and Tiago are giving me. Tom and I go back a long time and I am happy that Tom has always had faith in my ability and speed. Due to my recent experience in the Carrera Cup Benelux, in which I am participating again this year, I am driving a Cup car quite a lot, which can give me considerable advantage during the 24-hour race. Earlier this year, I raced the same car in the 24 Hours of Dubai and finished third in the Pro class. I am looking forward to a nice cooperation with Jan Jaap, Tom and Tiago and I think we can show great things at this iconic track.”

Last year, Tom Coronel had already planned to compete together with Jan Jaap van Roon and Tiago Monteiro in a race on the street circuit in the Portuguese city of Vila Real, Monteiro’s home race, but that event was cancelled at the time. Now Monteiro, who raced alongside Coronel for years in WTCC and WTCR, is joining after all. “I must have done some things right in my life because I have been racing for 25 years and still get invitations like this,” Monteiro laughs. “Thanks to Jan Jaap and Tom for this great opportunity to return to the most exciting and challenging circuit in the world! Moreover, it is a great pleasure to drive together with Tom. We have known each other for a long time, we have been each other’s rivals, teammates, but above all we are very good friends, and now we share the car with two more friends, which makes it all even nicer. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Tom Coronel is equally eager and full of anticipation. Last weekend, together with Monteiro and van Roon, he already participated in a four-hour race at the Nürburgring, in which the trio finished 15th from the 92 teams that took the start and ended up eighth in class. “For a first outing, that was fine,” Coronel said. Next weekend, two races are scheduled, the so-called ‘Qualifiers’ for the 24-hour race. In his programme for this year, Coronel is again supported by his trusted partners Ireckonu, Eurol, Mascot Workwear, ERU Prestige, ASC Group, API-4-BRANDS and Intrax Suspension.