Tom Coronel believes he ‘could have done better’ in the World Touring Car Championship races in Russia, after the Dutchman left Moscow empty-handed due to a number of errors which were both self-inflicted caused by his rivals.
Coronel had been running in sixth in the early stages of the Opening Race, having started from fourth on the grid, before he was handed a drive-through penalty for having not lined his car up correctly at the start of the race.
“In the first race, I had a lot of battles with Nicky Catsburg, Norbert Michelisz, Tiago Monteiro and Yvan Muller,” said Coronel. “At times, the fights were quite intense with some contact, but I definitely enjoyed it.
“Once, I made a mistake myself and had a lot of oversteer at a corner exit, but for the rest, everything went well. Until the moment, that is, when the team informed me that I had been given a drive through penalty. That in itself already is quite special for me, I can’t recall ever having been given such a penalty.
“Later on, I was informed about the reason and I really found that special: not having been lined up correctly in the starting grid box. I suppose it was justified, but I had never heard about it.
“Well, then I rejoined the race, I still had a battle with Chilton and I ended up twelfth overall and fourth among the privateers. In all honesty, I think I could have done better.”
Race two was a much shorter affair for the ROAL Motorsport racer, with damage picked up on the first lap of the race due to contact with Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani.
“The second race was a brief affair,” added Coronel, who dropped out of the top ten in the championship as a result. “I locked up under braking for the first corner and went straight, I returned onto the track and I was hit by Mehdi Bennani. This time, damage to the rear of the car was such that I wasn’t able to continue. Too bad, because that cost me valuable points here.”
The Dutchman admits that he is looking forward to the final European race of the season, which takes place on the streets of Vila Real in Portugal in just under two weeks’ time.
“The next circuit we will be racing on is Vila Real. To me, that track is in the same category as Hungary, Morocco and Japan: circuits where I usually do well, so let’s assume that this will be the case again.
“It will also be the last race of the season in this region, because after that, the action continues in Argentina and Asia.
“Oh, and one thing I certainly would like to mention is that Nicky Catsburg [who won the Main Race from pole position] did a fantastic job here, of course!”
Coronel also added that he is surprised how the championship has been affected by the weather this year, with rain falling at each of the six events which have taken place in the first half of the season.
“Isn’t it remarkable, by the way, that we have had rain in every FIA WTCC weekend so far this season? I think that is pretty unique.”
WATCH: Tom Coronel’s Moscow Raceway highlights