ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel says he is “proud of the result” he achieved in the second World Touring Car Championship race in Hungary, after keeping Citroën drivers Yvan Muller and José María López at bay.
Coronel, making his return to the WTCC in Hungary, having been forced to sit out the previous round whilst his car was repaired, finished race one in a solid eighth place, just behind the Citroën of Sébastien Loeb.
In race two the Dutchman took fourth, having sustained a race-long defence against Muller and López. Coronel admits that he did not want to make it easy for them to pass, and focussed on a race-long defence drive against the French cars.
“I was third on the grid, on the second row, and I hoped for a good start, but there was nothing I could do against Tiago Monteiro’s rocket start,” said Coronel. “The three guys in front of me were gone pretty soon and two Citroëns closed up behind me. I didn’t want to give them any presents and I fought for what I was worth. On the limit, and sometimes a little bit beyond it.
“Muller really tried everything. He looked right, he looked left, put his car alongside mine, tried to outbrake me, but I succeeded in keeping him at bay. Always keep looking and anticipating on what they were going to do. I really enjoyed it and I am proud of the result we have achieved.”
Coronel added that having scored his first points, he is hoping to continue the run of form next weekend at the Slovakiaring. ROAL Motorsport will remain at the Hungaroring this week to carry out additional testing with Tom Chilton, and Coronel hopes this also benefits him.
“Thus, I also scored my first world championship points of the season and we want to continue from here,” added Coronel. “My team-mate will be testing extensively on Tuesday and I hope that some things will come out of that to make us faster. It is all about very small things that can help us improve.”
The 42-year-old is also extremely thankful to his team, who managed to finish preparing his car in time for Friday’s test session – a day earlier than even Coronel himself had expected.
“I have to thank ROAL Motorsport and RML for the enormous effort,” said Coronel. “Although the final parts only arrived here late on Thursday, they worked all night long, so that I could already do a shakedown on Friday. That revealed a few issues that could still be solved in time.On Saturday, I could start the weekend just like everyone else.”
As a result of his double points finishes Coronel moves up to 11th in the driver’s championship with 16 points.