Tom Coronel gets championship winning SEAT Leon TDI for WTCC
5 February 2010
When the new 2010 season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship kicks off at Curitiba (Brazil) on March 7, Tom Coronel will be present once again. As in the past five years Coronel will drive a SEAT, but for this year the reigning champion of the Yokohama Independents Trophy gets a nice promotion. For the first time the 37 year old Dutchman will have a SEAT Leon TDI at his disposal, the car with which SEAT has won both drivers and manufacturers championships for the last two years. "I always said that I wanted to have a diesel car. At last I managed to get one. With this car we can fight for podium places on a regular basis", Tom Coronel said enthusiastically. The SEAT Leon TDI will be entered by the Spanish SUNRED Engineering team that has prepared the SEAT Leon for Tom Coronel and SEAT Team Holland for the last two years. Coronel's teammate will be no other than reigning FIA WTCC champion Gabriele Tarquini.
"It is fantastic to be in one team with Tarquini. The World Champion and the winner of the privateer championship together in one team, it can't be better, can it?" Tom Coronel is obviously optimistic on the eve of his sixth year in the top class of touring car racing. He as all good reasons for it, after all since its debut in Anderstorp in 2007 no less than 21 out of the 58 races were won by a SEAT Leon TDI. In 2008 Frenchman Yvan Muller won the World Championship, while Italian Gabriele Tarquini took the title in 2009, both drove a SEAT Leon TDI and in both years SEAT took the manufacturers title.
Tom Coronel is supported in his WTCC campaign by his loyal partners McGregor and TW Steel. Also Dutch SEAT importer Pon Car will support Tom Coronel and his SEAT Leon TDI in the FIA WTCC. "With this package I have a better chance than ever to score. I can't wait for the season to start", Coronel said. This year the championship will be held over 12 weekends with 2 races each. A new event to the calendar is the race at Zolder on 20 June. While the track of Portimão takes over from the Porto street circuit on 4 July.
2010 FIA WTCC KALENDER
7 March: Curitiba, Brazil
11 April: Puebla, Mexico
2 May: Marrakech, Morocco
23 May: Monza, Italy
20 June: Zolder, Belgium
4 July: Portimão, Portugal
18 July: Brands Hatch, Great Britain
1 August: Brno, Czech Republic
5 September: Oschersleben, Germany
19 September: Valencia, Spain
31 October: Okayama, Japan
21 November: Macau, China
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