Pole man Tom Coronel expects first lap to be crucial amid top speed deficit

Tom Coronel expects to be lacking top speed compared to his main rivals in the fight over victory in Sunday’s Race 2 at the TCR Europe series round in Austria, necessitating a strong opening lap to break away from pole position.

Coronel will start Race 2 from the front of the field in his Boutsen Ginion Honda after taking tenth in qualifying, putting him on pole for the partially-reversed grid encounter.

With the Red Bull Ring layout comprising four long straights, punctuated by a series of hairpin turns and a final twisting “infield” sector, straightline speed is at a premium – and Coronel believes that could potentially hamper his chances.

“We don’t have the top speed,” Coronel told TouringCarTimes when asked to rate his Race 2 prospects. “That will be difficult. We are good in the infield, so as long as I can make a good start and be ahead at Turn 4 [at the end of the long back straight], then we could be fine. We have to make a good start and a good first lap and then just go with it.”

Coronel was running in the points during most of Race 1 on Saturday, until clashing with Target Competition’s Mat’o Homola a few laps from home and sustaining race-ending damage.

“At the braking for T2, Homola came to the inside and we collided,” said Coronel. “My steering column was bent and it was over. In the braking zone he [Homola] just kept on going to the inside which is not expected by myself. But yeah, the stewards said it was a racing incident so that was it.”

Tom Coronel currently sits 20th in the TCR Europe series standings with two top ten finishes to his name at Hockenheim and Spa respectively.