Anyone who slightly knows Tom Coronel, with his boundless energy, knows that for him there’s almost nothing better than being able to race on two different circuits in a single weekend. « And what circuits! » he says with clear enthusiasm. First, on Saturday, he’ll be racing on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, the legendary ‘Green Hell’, in Max Kruse Racing’s Ireckonu Audi R8 LMS GT3 during the six-hour race of the ADAC Ravenol Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, sharing driving duties with Jan Jaap van Roon. On Sunday, Coronel will then be in action at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ – the TT Circuit in Assen – where he’ll be driving a Superkart at The Racing Day. « It’s going to be another incredibly cool weekend, » says Coronel.
A test session is already scheduled for Friday at the Nürburgring, in which Tom Coronel and Jan Jaap van Roon will also take part in preparation for the race. « We’ve also come up with something special, » says Coronel, « because, in collaboration with ERU, we’ve organised a competition where people had the chance, via social media, to win a lap as a passenger with me in our Audi R8 GT3 around the Nordschleife. That’s actually our race car, which the team has completely modified to fit a passenger seat on the right-hand side. The team weren’t too keen on it, as it meant two days’ work to reconfigure all sorts of things, and then, of course, it all has to be taken out again before the race on Saturday! But it’s incredibly cool that someone can simply come along with me as a passenger on the Nordschleife, amongst all the other GT3s and the hundred or so other cars that are also out there. The number of responses was massive; social media really went through the roof! In the end, the winner was a woman who’d given the ride as a gift to her boyfriend, who’s absolutely mad about the Audi R8, so it’s going to the right person. You can bet he’ll have a brilliant experience! »
On Saturday, following the early-morning qualifying session, the six-hour race – officially labelled as the KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen – will take place from 12.00 to 18.00. Coronel: « The six-hour race is the highlight of the NLS season and always attracts a lot of entrants. Jan Jaap van Roon and I sharing driving duties between the two of us, so that means plenty of seat time. A total of 130 cars will be on the starting grid – it’s set to be another great spectacle. »
The very next day, Coronel has another spectacular experience in store, as he’ll be driving a Superkart during The Racing Day at the TT Circuit Assen. « With Cor Euser, Allard Kalff, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jan Lammers and Jarno Opmeer, quite a few prominent Dutch drivers have taken part there in recent years, » says Coronel. He’s already had the chance to gain some experience with the Superkart. His enthusiasm is plain to see: « That’s incredibly cool! You’re just going at 240 kilometres per hour on the straight, whilst sitting just a few centimetres above the asphalt! After a few laps, I could barely keep my head upright to look ahead – there’s so much force acting on your neck and head. And you can take the corners at an impressive speed too! »
Tom Coronel is also looking forward to The Racing Day as an event. « It’s amazing what Lee van Dam and his team manage to put on there every year – the biggest event in the Netherlands featuring car racing, motorcycle racing and karting, and it’s free to attend too. Tim and I have been going for years; it’s always a real party! Now Tim’s racing in the Superkart on Saturday and I’m racing on Sunday – I’m really looking forward to it! »