WTCR
Tom Coronel to race Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda CIVIC in 2018 FIA WTCR
Key Takeaways
- A new adventure with new goals
- A top-level car, a top-level team in a top-level field
"Of course, I have done everything to become part of this since the first signs emerged, so I am really thrilled that it has now worked out," Coronel (45) says. In 2018, he will be racing the brand-new Honda Civic TCR. The car has been developed and built by Italian outfit, JAS Motorsport and will be run by Belgian team, Boutsen Ginion Racing. Last season, Coronel already raced a Honda Civic of the previous generation for the team that won the 2017 Benelux TCR title. In the 2018 FIA WTCR, Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro (41), who has been racing as a works-driver for Honda since 2012, will be Coronel's team-mate.
The livery of the new Honda will be largely identical to the one I had on my car last year with DHL yellow as the most important colour.
Tom Coronel
Tom Coronel is really enthusiastic about the steps that have been made: "Many people know that this is a development I hoped to see two years ago already. The FIA WTCR is a worthy successor of the FIA WTCC in which I participated every season, but it is fair to say that, from a sporting perspective, I was often making up the numbers in the most recent years. Now, we are facing a new challenge with identical equipment for everybody, at tracks all over the world and for me an excellent situation with a brand-new Honda Civic built by JAS Motorsport and run by Boutsen Ginion. A car that has specially been built for this championship and that allows us to take on the other brands at a level playing field. Personally, I reckon that this could very well be the best season start of my entire career in touring car racing. It certainly is the best package I have had in the last ten years. I certainly dare to predict that this year, I will be at least able to match the total number of trophies I have scored over the last five years in the FIA WTCC."
Coronel continues: "In the past years, Boutsen Ginion Racing has more than just proven its qualities and for me, the co-operation with Honda Benelux is significant, too. By participating in this championship, we will also promote the brand in the Benelux in many ways. There will be show cars with an identical livery as my race car, last year's Civic race car will be available for shows and demonstrations. Together with the Honda dealers, we will be making a lot of noise in every sense of the word. The livery of the new Honda will be largely identical to the one I had on my car last year with DHL yellow as the most important colour."
Preparation for the upcoming season is going well. Coronel: "The good thing is that the Civics are ready. That enables us to start testing well in time. Official test days are scheduled at the end of March and that is when everything really has to be sorted. I am totally confident and I am looking forward to working with Tiago Monteiro who is bringing in his vast knowledge. A new thing is that we will have three races every weekend, one on Saturday and two on Sunday, and that on ten weekends all over the world. As a result, there are thirty races counting towards the title with many different brands and top-level drivers out to compete."
Content from disqus has been blocked because you did not allow to load it.
Loading the blocked content will adjust your privacy setting and content from this service will not be blocked in the future.
You have the right to revoke or change your decision at any time.
Posting Guidelines
All communications on Logistics of Things should be appropriate for a professional community, respecting the diverse views of individuals from different backgrounds. We will review all comments and reserve the right to terminate or restrict access to user's account and to delete any content posted through it, without notice and at our discretion, if we deem it to be overly promotional, offensive, or off topic.
All posting become property of DHL.