« It’s unbelievable: 161 cars, nearly 600 drivers, 352,000 spectators and a circuit stretching over 25 kilometres. It really is the world’s biggest motor race, » says Tom Coronel of the annual 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, in which he was competing for the 15th time. Together with his teammates, compatriots Jan Jaap van Roon and Duncan Huisman and German Christian Kohlhaas, Coronel won the AT1 class in the Max Kruse Racing team’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo running on biofuel. « It was another typical Nürburgring race, in which we experienced all sorts of things, but that’s exactly what makes it so cool! And then to go home with a trophy makes it even better. It’s a shame we now have to wait for another year, » said Coronel.
Coronel’s team-mate Jan Jaap van Roon had already said beforehand that he expected ‘quattro stagioni’, or four seasons, and that prediction proved accurate. Rain, hail, snow, fog, but also sunshine were all on the menu during the four-day event. The practice sessions on Thursday and Friday went without a hitch for the team, and so the Audi started on Saturday at 3.00 pm from 31st place in a field of 161 entered cars.
« I’d said beforehand that I’d be driving the formation lap and the start, and that really gave me goosebumps, » said Coronel. « Thousands of people waving, clapping and cheering, right alongside the track, flags, fireworks… In all these years, I’ve never seen it so busy; it was packed everywhere! Of course, that was largely down to Max Verstappen’s participation, but there were also plenty of other good teams and drivers on the grid. » The early stages of the race were quite turbulent, with incidents and crashes galore. « A lot of people wanted to take on Verstappen, but then they were too eager, took too many risks and spun off, » Coronel noted.
He and his teammates steadily made good progress through the field, until the clutch failed late on Saturday evening. « I drove out onto the track, but immediately felt that something wasn’t right. I managed to drive another twelve laps with it, but eventually the clutch had to be replaced. That took an hour and 20 minutes, which naturally caused us to fall far behind, but after that the race actually went very well. We made it to the finish in the race and drove some good stints. Of course, there are always moments when you’re caught off guard – by the weather, traffic on the track and the like – but we managed to stay out of trouble for the most part, which allowed us to bring home the result. Thanks also to my teammates! Jan Jaap did a great job. Duncan, who introduced me to the Nordschleife back in the day, hadn’t raced for three years, but quickly got back into the swing of things. Christian Kohlhaas also did well, and the Max Kruse Racing team, led by Benjamin Leuchter, gave us a perfect car! »
For Jan Jaap van Roon, it’s left him wanting more: « My first 24-hour race in a GT3 – I never want to go back. It’s the best class. The night stint was absolutely brilliant, but also quite tricky. You don’t have the braking and steering reference points you use during the day. Fortunately, we finished the race. » Duncan Huisman said: « We finished the race and won the class, a great result for racing on bioethanol. We had a fantastic time and can look back on an exciting race! »
« I can hardly wait to go back, » Coronel concluded. « It’s also wonderful that so many people from the Netherlands have now discovered the Nordschleife and seen how beautiful racing here is. Max Verstappen has certainly managed to achieve that! » For Coronel and Van Roon, the next event on the calendar is the NLS8 four-hour race on 12 September, in the Audi.