Coronel doesn’t believe the rear-wheel drive hype

Despite beliefs to the contrary from the other teams, the best placed BMW of Tom Coronel doesn’t believe his BMW 320 TC will be as strong as his front-wheel drive rivals are predicting, and doesn’t expect to be on top step of the podium today, at least on pace.

The Dutch driver qualified as the top BMW driver with the third fastest time behind Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini. Coronel went flat out in the second qualifying session to set a time of 1:42.643, and picked up three Championship points as a result under the new points system.

“We just maximised everything because we are in competition, so that’s why we said we don’t play the game for race two. For sure race two I could win (if we) played a bit political in the qually, but we said no we won’t.”

Coronel also rubbished the suggestions by Chevrolet and SEAT’s drivers that the BMW will be the car to beat in tomorrow’s races, at a circuit where BMW hasn’t won since 2009, when Augusto Farfus won the second race on the reversed grid for BMW Team Schnitzer.

“At this circuit, it’s nearly impossible to overtake, so I suppose that maybe Michelisz or D’Aste could win race two, but we just didn’t want it.”

“For me, I have to be consistent with the podiums, and if I win because other people make mistakes, thank you very much but my car is not capable of winning.”

Reflecting on last year’s race when Tom Coronel was battling with Javier Villa for the lead, before the two made contact, slowing Michelisz behind and allowing Muller into the lead, Coronel said:
“(Chevrolet) were the fastest, they just could not overtake and they were happy that someone else could also have the moment of fame. In reality he knows that he has the fastest car, and I don’t mind that’s the way it is, I’m not in a McLaren, what car am I in? A Sauber?,” joked Coronel.