The 5.8 kilometres long Suzuka International Racing Course in Japan served as the venue for the penultimate round of the 2018 FIA WTCR presented by Oscaro. A track that is more than familiar for Tom Coronel, who competed in various Japanese motor racing championships for several years. Now, he raced the Honda Civic Type R TCR of Belgian team Boutsen Ginion Racing in the 2018 FIA WTCR.
A category in which the time differences between drivers were minimal. Thus, the Dutchman ended up 14th in free practice and was considerably faster in the next sessions. With a good slipstream, he seemed well underway to an almost certain top 10 position, only for the session to be red-flagged and Coronel having to abort his lap. That was the explanation for his 23rd grid position for all three races. He went on to convert these in a 17th, a 19th and a 14th place finish.
Tom Coronel commented afterwards: “Of course, this is a particular Honda circuit and I have to say that the Civic was really strong, especially in the corners. Only at the end of the straights, I lacked a little bit. I have said it often before and the results showed as much: the differences in this class are really minimal. Everything has to be spot-on during that single super lap. In all honesty, that looked as if it was going to happen. Previously, we had decided to participate in two of the three sessions in order to have one set of fresh tyres left. That strategy seemed to play out well. I was on my way to a super lap time in a nice slipstream from an Audi when the red flags came out at the end of my lap. That was really annoying, because that made 23rd time my best result. With the new tyres, I not only had a good start, but I was also able to fight with Gordon Shedden in his Audi. I had a really nice race and I benefited from mistakes by other drivers whenever I could. At the finish line, I was just ahead of Shedden, but again, margins were tiny.
« At the start of the second race, I had another good getaway and battled with Shedden and Filippi. And even though I was a bit further down the ranks, plenty of things were happening. Once again, the corners were our strong point but we were slightly lacking pace on the straights. That is the result of the balance of performance of the cars. You see others getting away while you are getting the maximum from your own car. Of course, that is frustrating. As a driver, you always want to go faster and it is annoying when you are at the max. In that race, I finished 19th, so it all had to happen in the third race. In that one, my start was the weakest I had all weekend. I also took a slightly wider line than normal in a corner during the opening stages, giving me a good view of the things that were happening in front of me. I was stuck behind Homola and Filippi, but I was certain that chances would come. Because of the internal battles, drivers in the midfield lost time and we were able to close up. After that, several drives hit each other, there was a tyre stack in the middle of the field and choosing the right line at those moments helped me move up. 14th place! With a little bit more luck in qualifying, much more would have been on the cards, but on the other hand, my Honda is unscathed which is a nice thing. The next round, the season finale, is at the Macau street circuit. There, I was on the podium last year and let’s hope that we can now finish the season in the same way. Top speed doesn’t mean that much over there and it is the performance in the infield section that matters most. On top of that, street circuits normally suit me very well, especially when I have a bit of luck, too, something that is really crucial in Macau! »
Result Race 1 FIA World Touring Car Cup 2018 Suzuka-Japan :
1.Kevin Ceccon (Ita) Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR 11 laps in 26:42.267;
2. Aurélien Comte (Fra) Peugeot 308 TCR +0.728;
3. Yvan Muller (Fra) Hyundai i30 N TCR +1.319;
4. Esteban Guerrieri (Arg) Honda Civic TCR +1.759;
5. Mehdi Bennani (Mor) Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR +2.157 and
17. Tom Coronel (Ned) Honda Civic TCR +10.108.
RACE 2:
1. Rob Huff (GBr) Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR 10 laps in 23:21.959;
2.Pepe Oriola (Spa) Cupra TCR +1.444;
3. Norbert Michelisz (Hun) Hyundai i30 N TCR +1.938;
4. Aurélien Panis (Fra) Audi RS3 LMS +7.685;
5. Gabriele Tarquini (Ita) Hyundai i30 N TCR +8.984 and
19. Tom Coronel (Ned) Honda Civic TCR +21.176.
RACE 3:
1. Gabriele Tarquini (Ita) Hyundai i30 N TCR 11 laps in 24:41.704;
2. Aurélien Comte (Fra) Peugeot 308 TCR +1.577;
3. Kevin Ceccon (Ita) Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR +2.024;
4. Mehdi Bennani (Mor) Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR +3.140;
5. Aurélien Panis (Fra) Audi RS3 LMS +3.674 and
14. Tom Coronel (Ned) Honda Civic TCR +24.639.
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