NÜRBURGRING/ZANDVOORT (5 September 2021) – It was “double duty” for Tom Coronel this weekend with the fifth round of the TCR Europe Series at the Nürburgring, in which he participated with the Audi RS 3 LMS in DHL colours, run by Belgian team Comtoyou Racing, but also the Formula 1 Grand Prix at CM.com Circuit Zandvoort where he had many activities as well. “I racked up a lot of mileage, all driving by myself,” Tom Coronel said after finishing fifth in the Saturday race at the Nürburgring as the best-placed Audi driver. “These were valuable points, but of course, I didn’t want to miss Formula 1 at Zandvoort either, especially when Max is going to win!”

For Tom Coronel, the fact that the race weekend at the Nürburgring collided with the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Zandvoort meant that he had to commute a few times between Germany and The Netherlands. “On Thursday, I had the ‘Formula 1 Café’ TV show and on Friday as well, but in between also the free practice sessions at the Nürburgring on Friday,” he reported. “That meant I was already on the road for the Nürburgring at 5 am on Friday. The free practice sessions went well, we ended up fourth and fifth. After that back to The Netherlands for the ‘Formula 1 Café’ show at Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk and then back to the Nürburgring once more. Qualifying on Saturday morning with the second-fastest time in Q1 and sixth place in Q2. That put me sixth on the grid as the fastest Audi driver. I thought that we could have ended up a little bit further up, but it turned out that the Audis were lacking a little bit of speed over here.”

In the race, Coronel had a good getaway. “There were several battles going on in front of me, but I wasn’t quite able to close up”, he commented afterwards. “Eventually, Callejas, who had started from pole position, locked up under braking following a slight mistake on the final lap. That enabled me to overtake him on the inside at the Dunlop corner and that is how I finished in fifth place. After that, I immediately got into my camper and drove back to The Netherlands where I had to do a presentation for DHL at Schiphol airport on Saturday evening and another one on Sunday morning in a beach club in Zandvoort.”

His activities at Zandvoort are the reason that Coronel has opted to miss out on the second race of the TCR Europe Series at the Nürburgring. “Such a historic moment at Zandvoort is something I don’t want to miss, of course,” he says enthusiastically. “Especially when Max is going to win it! On Sunday, I am on duty for Dutch TV station Ziggo at the circuit all day long, including the race preview and review shows from the paddock, together wit Robert Doornbos and Rob Kamphues. Of course, I don’t want to miss this Formula 1 weekend!”

With his single race in TCR Europe Series, Coronel wasn’t unhappy either. “Valuable points, fifth place as the best Audi driver, there is nothing wrong with that. On top of that, sixth place in qualifying means that I am just getting ten kilograms extra on board for the next races at Monza, that helps as well!” The next two races of the TCR Europe Series will be held at Monza on 25 and 26 September.

TCR Europe 2021 calendar
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24-26 September, Monza, Italy 08-10 October, Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Spanje