31 December 1997
Fanclub meeting in Huizen
Op Zondag 4 januari zal voor de derde keer de jaarlijkse Tom Coronel Fanclub meeting gehouden worden in het Coronel Kartracing Indoorcenter. Leden van de Fanclub kunnen meedoen met de kartcompetitie die zal bestaan uit een trainings heat, twee kwalificatie heats en een finale. In deze finale zullen de beste 20 fans het opnemen tegen Tom.
Naast de kartcompetitie is er nog meer te doen. Een bezoek aan het nieuwe 3D theater is inbegrepen en er worden race video's van Tom vertoond. Uiteraard is Tom de hele dag aanwezig voor handtekeningen, foto's en een praatje.
De meeting zal van 10:00 tot circa 15:00 duren. Op onze Karting pagina kunt U zien waar het Coronel Kartracing Indoorcenter te vinden is.
Nog geen lid van de Tom Coronel Fanclub? Stuur dan nu een email met adresgegevens of kom gewoon zondag langs in Huizen en vul daar het inschrijvingsformulier in.
24 December 1997
Tom tevreden na Formule Nippon test
Tom is inmiddels weer terug in Nederland en kijkt tevreden terug op zijn Formule Nippon test in Suzuka. Hij vertelde onder de indruk te zijn van de professionele werkwijze van het team. Tom was erg goed te spreken over de test. Hij maakte geen fouten en was niet alleen de beste Reynard coureur maar ook de beste nieuwkomer van de testsessie. De snelste tijd algemeen werd neergezet door de Japanner Kageyama in een Lola.
Het Le Mans team waarvoor Tom reed is één van de beste teams in de Formule Nippon. In 1996 won het team de titel met Ralf Schumacher terwijl Norberto Fontana dit jaar derde werd. Esteban Tuero die dit jaar als tweede rijder voor Le Mans reed, tekende onlangs een Formule 1 contract bij Minardi. Zodoende komt er een plaats vrij die Tom graag op wil vullen.
20 December 1997
Coronel test Formule Nippon op Suzuka
Tom Coronel heeft de afgelopen week met een Formule Nippon auto getest. Tom reed op Suzuka met de Reynard 97D van het Le Mans team. Norberto Fontana eindigde dit jaar als derde in het kampioenschap met deze auto. Coronel zette een snelste tijd van 1m46.927s wat hem een 6e tijd opleverde. Op het Japanse Grand Prix circuit kregen een aantal rijders de kans om kennis te maken met de Formule Nippon. Onder hen waren Max Angelelli, Takeshi Tsuchiya en Elton Julian.
18 December 1997
Nieuwe layout Tom Coronel homepage
Zoals misschien is opgevallen bij het binnenkomen van de site is de hoofdpagina voorzien van een nieuwe lay-out. We zijn bezig om de hele site om te zetten naar deze lay-out en hopen deze nog voor het eind van het jaar te presenteren.
14 December 1997
Coronel Kartracing fors uitgebreid
Coronel Kartracing in Huizen heeft onlangs haar capaciteit verdubbeld. Door de verdubbeling van de totale ruimte is er een tweede baan met een lengte van 475 meter gerealiseerd. Uiteraard zijn de bijbehorende horeca-, vergader- en ontvangstruimten meegegroeid. Tevens vond er een herstructurering van de bestaande kartaccomodatie plaats. Nieuw is verder een spectaculair 3-dimensionaal theater. In dit theater wordt de kijker verrast door fascinerende levensechte beelden. Hierdoor kunnen niet alleen particulieren een avondje uit bij Coronel Kartracing maar zijn ook bedrijfsfeesten voor groepen tussen de 14 en 700 mensen welkom.
Uiteraard is het nog steeds mogelijk om met vrienden of familie een losse heat te rijden. Verder zal Coronel Kartracing in de toekomst een aantal endurance evenementen organiseren waarbij men individueel of als team aan mee kan doen. Coronel Kartracing is te vinden aan de Havenstraat in Huizen. Kijk voor meer info en een routebeschrijving op onze Coronel Kartracing pagina.
12 December 1997
Peter Dumbreck opvolger Coronel bij TOM'S
Nadat Tom Coronel besloten had om zijn carriere voort te zetten in de Formule Nippon moest het TOM'S team uitkijken naar een varvangende Formule 3 coureur voor het seizoen '98. Onlangs werd de Britse coureur Peter Dumbreck aangesteld als vervanger van Tom. Dumbreck reed dit jaar voor Paul Stewart Racing in het Engels Formule 3 kampioenschap. Het contract van de 24-jarige Schot werd niet verlengd en Dumbreck was dan ook blij om nog voor de Kerst zijn plannen voor 1998 rond te hebben. Hij verklaarde veel zin te hebben in deze nieuwe uitdaging. Dumbreck was tijdens de Formule 3 race in Macau al onder de indruk van de TOM'S Toyota toen Tom hem op het rechte stuk voorbij vloog.
9 December 1997
Awards-time voor Tom Coronel
December is altijd een maand van prijsuitreikingen en awards. Vorige week werd Tom door Marlboro uitgenodigd om de Autosport Awards in Londen bij te wonen waarbij alle kopstukken van de internationale autosport aanwezig waren. Morgen zal Tom naar Japan vertrekken om daar het gala met de prijsuitreikingen bij te wonen. Hopelijk zal hij daar ook zijn plannen voor 1998 kunnen bespreken.
23 November 1997
Coronel races karts in Holland, Indy Lights in USA
Tom Coronel and his teammates Peter Kox and Jan Lammers finished in 7th place in today's Pro-Kart endurance race. Winners of the 6 hour race were the Contrason/BIZ team. For Peter Kox it was the first time he came into action as a Honda driver. The Dutchman recently signed a contract to drive the 1998 British Touringcar Championship for the Japanese manufacturer. For Peter the fact that the Pro-Karts are also powered by (2) Honda engines was a nice coincidence.
Tom Coronel had had a busy week but he did not mind leaving his bed very early in the morning to come to the karting track at Venray. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was one of the quicker drivers on the track. For most part of the race the three Dutch internationals were in second place only to drop back in the latter stages of the race. That the three were not taking it easy was shown by the two stop and go penalties they got for driving too quick into the pits.
Yesterday Tom was crowned 'Dutch racing driver of the year' in the category of international racing drivers. Coronel beated Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen and Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendijk.
Tom told us he tested an Indy Lights car in America after the Macau Formula 3 race. He was invited by the Dorricot team on the Dutton Willow circuit. Comparing Indy Lights to Formula Nippon Tom said that the Formula Nippon cars are more powerful and have more grip. "The Indy Lights are a bit more bulkier", he said. Tom stressed that this test was purely informal and that his priorities still lie in Formula Nippon.
20 November 1997
Lammers, Coronel and Kox team up in kartrace
Next Sunday 23 November Tom Coronel will take part in a 6-hour endurance kartrace. He will form a team together with GT drivers Peter Kox and Jan Lammers. This unique trio will drive the final race of the Dutch Pro-Kart championship at the 'De Peel' circuit near Venray. The three Dutch internationals will drive a Bowman kart prepared by Pro Karting Holland. The race will start at 10:30. You can find the circuit near the N277, the so called Midden-Peelweg between Ysselsteyn and Vredepeel.
17 November 1997
Coronel reflects on Macau
Due to some technical problems with our server the new U.R.L. www.coronel.nl has been off-line for some time. Our apologies for this.
Looking back on yesterday's race at Macau Tom admits that the spin in the first heat was his own mistake. "After the pacecar intervention I went flat out towards the first corner, but I felt I did not have the same level of grip like I had before", he said. "Because of the sand on the track the car did not slow down fast enough and I slid towards the guardrail at a 250 km/h pace. This caused some dammage to the rear suspension. Keeping the car in balance on two wheels I looked for a safe place to park the car. As soon as I saw the race was redflagged I jumped in the car to drive it back to the pits. Unfortunately I found out there that I had already been taken out of the results because I received assistance from the marshalls in trying to get back on the track", Coronel continued.
Tom was of course much more satisfied about the second heat. "I had nothing to lose" he said. "It was a great charge through the field, I even hit Angelelli which caused him to spin. By braking later and later I moved up steadily, acoording to Tom.
After the race Max Angelelli was disqualified from 4th place causing Tom to be classified as 13th and Donny Crevels as 9th in the final standings.
The final results from Macau are now available on our Macau results page.
16 November 1997
Eventful race for Tom Coronel at Macau
Soheil Ayari has won the Macau Grand Prix. The Frenchman won the second heat ahead of Tom Coronel who drove a storming race coming from way down in 19th place on the grid.
Ayari had a fierce battle with Max Angelelli but the Italian dropped back after 10 of the 15 laps. Angelelli had been leading untill then. As in the first heat there was a safetycar interference, this time to remove the spun car of Franck Montagny. Also the marshalls took the opportunity to remove a dog that had got onto the track!
After the safetycar pulled off the track Tom used the restart to move up to second place. Unfortunately Tom does not feature in the overall results as he faces a 3 lap deficit due to his spin in the first heat.
The first leg of the Macau Grand Prix has been won by Max Angelelli. Unfortunately Tom Coronel did not make it to the end of the race. He spun out on the tenth lap of the race.
Coronel had a good start from third place on the grid and moved into second after polesitter Soheil Ayari failed to benefit from his pole. Angelelli was leading after the first lap but Coronel soon took the lead. Tom soon built up an advantage of 1.5s. Meanwhile Ayari caught up with Firman who was in third place. Together they charged up to the back of Angelelli. Ralph Firman than spun out which caused, in combination with an accident between Bas Leinders and Keiichi Nishimiya, a safetycar situation. The safetycar stayed out on the circuit for two laps. After the restart Tom maintained his lead followed by Angelelli and Ayari. On lap 10 Tom made a slight error and hit the tyrewall at the Lisboa corner. Angelelli and Ayari who were right behind him had to ease of dramatically. Ayari hit the rear wing of Angelelli causing both of them to spin. As the car of Angelelli was blocking the road the race was redflagged.
After cleaning up the track the race was restarted. Unfortunately Tom was not able to take the restart. Angelelli and Ayari did manage and the Italian did not give away his lead in the final three laps.
15 November 1997
Tom optimistic after Macau qualifying
After qualifying yesterday Tom Coronel was reasonably satisfied with the results so far. Despite missing out on pole position the Dutchman is still very optimistic about his chances for tomorrow's race. Coronel dominated in the first three practice sessions and knows he has still something in store for the race. "I still have a fresh set of tyres left for each of the two heats of the race, and my main competitors don't." Tom said. "All in all I am in a perfect position for victory" he added. Tom thinks that on not starting from the pole is not such a big disadvantage on this circuit. " After the start there is a long straight where everybody will be slipstreaming so you could drop down from first to fourth or fifth before the first corner.
Tom caused some panic among the many Dutch fans that made the trip to Macau when he was called in by the stewards. Coronel had to explain the V sign he made with his fingers to an official. Tom explained he was referring to the two times that his car had been checked over already. What Tom did not know was that this sign is equal to the infamous 'finger' in Europe.
The race tomorrow will very much be down to tactics. Two heats of 15 laps in the streets of Macau are scheduled. Last year's winner Ralph Firman scored his victory without actually winning one of the heats. A good support from the pitcrew will be vital although the drivers will just go flat out. After all history proved that on the treacherous circuit of Macau anything can and usually does happen.
The combined qualifying results which make up the starting grid for Sunday's race are now available on our Macau results page.
14 November 1997:
Tom Coronel will start from the third place on the grid in Sunday's Macau Formula 3 race. In the final qualifying session today Tom set the third fastest time. Virtually anybody was quicker than yesterday in this session. Tom hoped to improve his time with a fresh set of tyres. Unfortunately he could not find a clear lap and some red flag situations did not help either.
Formula 3 returnees Soheil Ayari and Max Angelelli are on the front row, while Formula Nippon driver Ralph Firman lines up alongside Tom on the second row of the grid. The other Dutchman in the race, Donny Crevels ended up in 29th and last place.
The combined qualifying results which make up the starting grid for Sunday's race are now available on our Macau results page.
You can now reach this site on our new URL. The new address is http://www.coronel.nl. A new lay-out for this site is planned in the near future.
13 November 1997
Coronel fastest in free practice at Macau
Today the first day of practice was be held at Macau. The Formula 3 drivers had two sessions today, an unofficial session of 30 minutes and a 45 minutes official qualifying session.
Tom Coronel was fastest in the first official qualifying session. He was one tenth of a second quicker than Frenchman Soheil Ayari who makes a temporarily return to Formula 3 after a season in European Formula 3000. Last year's Macau winner Ralph Firman was third quickest. The second Dutch driver in the race, Donny Crevels ended up in 27th place.
Tom Coronel was confident that there was more to come in the final session on Friday. Tom has still a new set of tyres left while most others drove on new rubber today.
Nick Heidfeld, one of Tom's potential competitors for victory on Sunday has withdrawn. The German winner of the Monaco F3 race earlier this year is suffering from foodpoisoning. Heidfeld was infected in Spain where he tested a Formula 3000 car for the new McLaren junior squad. Heidfeld's place in the BSR team has been taken by the vastly experienced Max Angelelli from Italy.
9 November 1997
Ito wins final Formula 3 race
The final race of the Japanese Formula 3 series has been won by Daisuke Ito. The Japanese Formula Toyota graduate scored his first win after starting the race from pole position. Yuji Tachikawa, the runner-up in the championship to Tom Coronel, was second. Shingo Tachi, Tom's teammate at TOM'S Toyota this year finished in 3rd place.
Tom Coronel did not start in this race as he will compete in the international Formula 3 race at Macau next week. The team has to transport the car from Japan to Macau, an Portugese island just below the Chinese mainland. The first qualifying session at Macau will start on Thursday.
Thanks to Mitsuhiko Ishii we can bring you the results of this race and the final standings in the championship on our results page.
7 November 1997
Tom Coronel popular at Speed & Design
The exhibition 'Speed and Design' was a big succes for Tom Coronel and his Fanclub. Tom signed thousands of autographs and got lots positive reactions about winning the championship and the Marlboro Masters. The Fanclub got more than 80 new members during the exhibition bringing the total number of members well over 300.
Next Monday Tom will head for Macau to prepare for his final Formula 3 race of 1997. On Tuesday several of his enthusiastic fans will follow to support him. The race will be held on 16 November in the streets of the Portugese enclave.
28 October 1997
Exhibition Speed & Design open for public
Tomorrow the exhibition 'Speed and Design' will be opened by Eddie Irvine. Other Formula 1 drivers present on the show will be Jos Verstappen and Johnny Herbert. Both drivers can be seen with their current Grand Prix cars. Tom Coronel will each day be present. You can find the Tom Coronel fanclub on stand 372. The exhibition is open until Sunday. Opening hours are Wed-Fri: 14:00 - 22:00, Sa+Su: 10:00 - 18:00.
21 October 1997
Tom Coronel back home
Tom Coronel is back home in the Netherlands again. After six weeks in Japan Tom's family and friends finally had the opportunity to congratulate the Japanese Formula 3 champion. Before he left Tom's teamboss gave him a clear order for the next race at Macau on 16 November: 'Either you win the race or you crash the car'. Of course we all hope for the first option but the only thing predictable at Macau is trouble in the first corner...
20 October 1997
Tom's view on Fuji tragedy
Tom decided to start the race with a shorter first gear than the oppostion to make a good start. He figured out this was the only way to compensate for the lack of topspeed on the long Fuji straight. This seemed to work out quite well as he was leading after the first corner. The oppostion followed closely however. Wakisaka tried to close the gap under braking for the second corner. "He hit one of my rear wheels, made a double salto and landed partly on my car and partly on my helmet. We both went off into the gravel. I came to a standstill agains the bariers. First I checked if I could move my head and after this was ok I got out of the car." Tom said. Later he said to feel like a boxer being hit in the face on both sides.
The safetycar came out on the circuit to enable the marshalls to clean up the mess. Then the tragic accident of Yokoyama happened.
Tom was shocked after he learned the sad news. Last year at Macau the two were teammates. Coronel realized that this was also one of the risks coming along in motorsport. Despite leaving Japan today as the new Formula 3 champion Tom was far from happy, quite understandably.
20 October 1997
Tragedy at Fuji
A severe accident marred the 9th round of the Japanese Formula 3 series at Fuji. Japanese driver Takashi Yokoyama lost his life when he drove into a group of cars that were cruising behind the safety car.
The 25 year old driver of the Dome team could not avoid the group and crashed into the signboard on the main straight.
The safetycar was on the track after a big shunt right after the start. Unfortunately this accident involved Tom Coronel. He was hit from behind by Shigekazu Wakisaka. The Japanese driver made a double salto and landed on the back of Tom's car. Tom Coronel did not sustain any further injuries. After this tragic accident the organisers decided to cancel the race.
Triumph and tragedy often go hand in hand. Dutch driver Jacky van der Ende won the prestigious Formula Ford World Finals today, previously known as the Formula Ford festival. His name is now added to the list of other previous winners like Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine and Jan Magnussen. We would like to congratulate Jacky with this unique victory and wish him all the best in his future racing career.
18 October 1997
Front row start for Tom Coronel at Fuji
Tom Coronel will start from second place on the grid in tomorrow's Formula 3 race at Fuji. The Dutchman missed out on pole position by one tenth of a second. Pole position went to Daisuke Ito who is driving a Dallara Mugen. The drivers that gave Tom the most opposition for the title this year, Tachikawa, Tsuchiya, and Wakisaka will start just behind him in 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively.
Tom said he is losing about 6km/h on the straight to Ito and Tachikawa and expects a tough fight in the race tomorrow. Coronel had been trying all sorts of changes to the setup in practice but none of them seemed to improve the car dramatically.
Yuji Tachikawa, one of Tom's main competitors for the title this year will make his Formula Nippon debut this weekend, also at Fuji. Apart from his Formula 3 car Tachikawa drives the second team Le Mans car alongside Norberto Fontana. The Japanese driver is not yet completely comfortable with the car as he only qualified in the lower regions of the field while his teammate is on the frontrow.
This weekend Tom Coronel is closely followed by a Dutch T.V. crew. The program 'Ooggetuige' will show an item about Tom racing in Japan soon.
15 October 1997
Final Formala 3 race for Tom in Japan
Tom Coronel will drive his last Formula 3 race in Japan this weekend. The series returns to Fuji where earlier this year Tom gave the TOM'S Toyota team their first F3 victory on this circuit. It will be the ninth round of the Japanese Formula 3 series. There is still one race to go after Fuji but Tom will contest the Macau Formula 3 race which will be held only a week after the final Japanese race. As the team needs this time to make all the preparations for the shipment to the Portugese enclave, Tom will not race in the final round at Suzuka. Let's hope Tom will have a special say-goodbye present for the Japanese audience.
14 October 1997
Speed & Design website online
You can now visit the official website of the Speed and Design exhibition which will be held from 29 October until 2 November in Utrecht. On this exhibition you can meet Tom Coronel and lots of other Dutch racing drivers.
13 October 1997
Coronel shows his face in Formula 1
After visiting the Japanese Grand Prix Tom said he spent a great deal his of business cards this weekend. He was there to introduce himself to the Formula 1 Paddock. However he emphasized that he sees his immediate future in Formula Nippon. Tom thinks it is easier for him to find a good drive in this class than finding one in European Formula 3000. 'The Japanese Formula 3 series is a support act for most of the Formula Nippon races so the people know me better over here', Tom said.
4 October 1997
Tom Coronel comments on Formula 1 race
Tom Coronel will be a co-commentator for the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. Tom will assist Olav Mol and Allard Kalff of the Dutch broadcast station RTL4. Of course Tom is not just at Suzuka as a commentator. His primary job at Suzuka is to show his face and talk to the people that matter regarding his future in motorracing.
4 October 1997
Tom Coronel at Speed & Design
From 29 October until 2 November the yearly motorshow 'Speed and Design' will be held in the 'Jaarbeurs' exhibition centre in Utrecht. On this show a lot of racing cars and their drivers will be present. Of course the Tom Coronel Fanclub will also be present and you will have a chance to meet Tom in person. More news about this will follow in the next few weeks.
28 September 1997
Tom Coronel is the new Japanese Formula 3 champion!
In the eighth round of the Japanese Formula 3 series Tom took the championship in style by scoring his sixth victory of the season. The nine points he got for his win were more than enough to secure the championship with two races still to go. His two main opponents in the championship, Tachikawa and Tsuchiya, finished second and third today.
After first practice things did not look so bright for the TOM'S team. Tom did not have a lot of grip due to the heavy rain which caused him to spin twice. To make things worse he was hit very hard by Nokajima when he drove into the pits. This crash nearly caused a write-off to the monocoque but the ever hard-working TOM'S crew managed to get the car back into shape for the qualifying session. In this session Tom rewarded his crew with another pole position.
In the race Tom built up a gap in the early stages of the race. He had a seven second gap to the man in second position. It was clear that Tom did not want to settle for fifth place which was the minimal result needed to wrap up the title. In dominant style Tom led the 19 laps at Motegi to win the title in style.
With the championship now decided in Tom's favour many questions are asked where Tom will drive next year. Tom himself does not know his destination for 1998. He wants to concentrate on the Macau Formula 3 race in a few weeks time where he meets the international cream of Formula 3 again. Also Tom will visit the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix where hopefully he will have some fruitful talks with the people that matter. Other possibilities for Tom are Formula Nippon and according to some rumours in Japan, CART in the U.S.A. with Toyota.
The next race for Tom will be at Fuji on 19 October where he hopes to score another victory to underline his supremacy in the Japanese F3 series.
The Motegi-results and the latest championship standings are now available on our results page.
27 September 1997
Pole position for Tom Coronel at Motegi
Tom Coronel will start from pole position tomorrow. Despite having some problems in free practice this morning which saw him spin twice Tom managed to turn his luck in the qualifying session.
25 September 1997
Tom Coronel races at brand new Motegi track
This weekend Tom Coronel can clinch the Japanese Formula 3 series by scoring a fifth place or better. The eight race of the championship will be held at the new Motegi circuit. The recently completed Honda owned track is situated nearby Tokyo and facilitates a 2.98 mile road course and an 1.5 mile Indycar-type oval. Therefore the circuit is called 'Twin Ring Motegi'. Formula Nippon champion Pedro de la Rosa tested at the track and said: 'It's a very good facility' but criticized the predominance of slow corners. His colleague Andrew Gilbert-Scott commented:'It's not Spa but it's good'.
This weekend the Formula Nippon stars will also race at Motegi. Tom hopes to get into contact with some teamowners in this class regarding a drive for next year.
19 September 1997
Strong line up for Macau expected
Tom Coronel will face some stiff competition at the Macau Formula 3 race in two months time. The Macau Grand Prix is the Asian equivalent of the Marlboro Masters and will see all the international Formula 3 starts come into action. Recently it was announced that Ralf Firman, last year's winner will defend his title with Paul Stewart Racing. Firman is now competing in Formula Nippon, a class which Tom also has set his targets on.
Talking about Formula Nippon: last week the 1997 title was won by Pedro de la Rosa, Tom's predecessor at TOM'S-Toyota.
10 September 1997
Vote for Tom Coronel as best Dutch racing driver
The Dutch Motorracing Association - The N.A.V. - has organised the Dutch Motorsport Awards. In 8 catagories Awards are granted to the best drivers and teams of
1997. Tom Coronel is nominated in the catagory "Best International Racing Driver". Tom will face competion for this award from drivers like Jos Verstappen, Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendijk and the winner of the British Formula Ford title Jacky van der Ende. You can vote for each of the nominated drivers at the website of Sportdreams. Several expensive watches and V.I.P. tickets for the Award gala are are available for the lucky voters.
7 September 1997
New Tom Coronel T-Shirt available
Because of Tom's recent successes in the Japanese Formula 3 series and the Marlboro Masters his sponsor NoFear released an exclusive T-Shirt for the Tom Coronel Fanclub. The T-Shirt of which only 250 examples of this T-Shirt have been produced is sold with the theme "Prepared for Victory". The price of this high quality shirt is Hfl. 59.95 with a discount of Hfl. 5.00 for fanclub members. More details about where to buy this T-Shirt can be found at our Fanclub page.
6 September 1997
Lucky 7 reigns at Sendai
Lucky number seven stroke again. In the 7th round of the Japanese F3 championship at the 7th September car number 7 was victorious. Car nr.7 is of course the TOM'S Toyota of Tom Coronel. In an exiting race which saw two pace car interventions the Dutchman managed to win his 5th race in Japan. On the half-wet half dry Sendai track Tom also set the fastest lap of the race. On the podium Tom was joined by Argentine Sebastian Martino and Go Shimizu from Japan who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
His two main rivals for the championship, Tachikawa and Tsuchiya both spun out of the race in the first lap. Therefore Coronel set a major step towards the championship. He is now leading with 51 points while his two Japanese rivals both stayed at 28. The Dutchman can clinch the title at the new Motegi circuit where the next race will be held in three weeks time. Then, he only needs to finish in the top 5 to celebrate the championship
The Sendai-results and the latest championship standings are now available on our results page.
6 September 1997
Pole for Tom Coronel at Sendai
Tom Coronel will start from pole position in tomorrow's race at Sendai, the 7th round of the Japanese Formula 3 series. Coronel set a time of 1m43.379s and lined up behind Tachikawa, his main rival in the championship. Tom hopes to have a good start tomorrow as overtaking is very difficult on this circuit.
In the free practice session this morning Tom was also quickest, ahead of Ito and Tsuchiya who later dissapointed with the 15th time in official qualifying.
5 September 1997
Tim Coronel steps out of German F3 drive
Tom's racing twin brother Tim decided to stop his German Formula 3 challenge with the Tokmakidis team. Tim was dissapointed about the results so far. The German team which took over the previously succesful outfit of Willy Weber's WTS team is unable to emulate the successes of its predecessors.
The Tom Coronel Homepage is available again at its original adress www.coronel.club.tip.nl . Here you can check out the latest news of Tom's efforts at Sendai this weekend.
23 August 1997
Boogert saves our site
Thanks to Richard Boogerd the Tom Coronel Homepage is alive again!! He kindly offered us some space on his server after our provider decided to cut off the connection due to the heavy datatraffic.
23 September 1997
Tom Coronel back to Japan
After a well earned holiday Tom Coronel will return to Japan on 1 September. He will try to continue his winning form in the next race of the Japanese championship at 7 September on the Sendai circuit.
22 September 1997
Coronel twins in Veronica TV show
Tom and Tim Coronel will appear in a television show on Saturday evening. The talkshow called "Oeverloos" is presented by Bart de Graaff and is broadcasted on Veronica, a Dutch cable T.V. station. The program will start at 23:10.
21 August 1997
Coronel website shut down due to excessive traffic
Due to the heavy data traffic we cause our provider decided to cut off the connection until the end of this month. Only members of T.I.P. are able to see this at the moment. We are working however on a new site with a different provider.
18 August 1997
Rename suggested for Toyota corner
Pim Hoekzema, one of the visitors of this page had a brilliant suggestion. His idea was to rename the Toyota Corner at the Zandvoort circuit into the Coronel Corner. After all it was at this bent that Tom placed his daunting move on Sebastian Philippe which won him the Marlboro Masters.
12 August 1997
Marlboro Masters review online
A review of the Marlboro Masters, including pictures is available by clicking here.
6 August 1997
New info added to Formula 3 1997 page
Our page about Tom's 1997 Formula 3 season has been expanded. Now you can see how the championship unfolds with only four races to go. We bring you an overview of the points scored by the top four contenders in each race.
5 August 1997
Coronel helmets available in Grand Prix 2 game
Players of the Formula 1 simulation game Grand Prix 2 can now race with the helmets of Tom and Tim Coronel. Marco Luxwolda created a BMP file with the necessary graphics. The BMP-file and a short description are available in a 6.58kb zipped file. You can download the utilities to implement the helmets in your own game on Pieter's GP2 page.
4 August 1997
The day after
Marlboro Masters
1997, the day after. Of course a lot of attention in the Dutch press went to our winner of the Marlboro Masters. Here are some of the headlines we found in the newspapers:
Coronel after his victory, picture taken by Hans van Tilburg, copyright De Telegraaf
At Zandvoort Tom Coronel picture postcards were handed out by the fanclub and the TOM'S team. On this card a www address is printed. This is the URL of the new official Tom Coronel Homepage which is sanctioned by the fanclub. Unfortunately due to technical problems this site is not yet operational. We will keep you informed about this.
The results of the Sugo Formula 3 race and the latest championship standings are now available on our results page.
3 August 1997
Tommy did it!!!
Tom Coronel won the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort today in a great style.
After the warm up this morning Tom was very confident. Coronel set the fastest time in the session. He said he found a good race set-up for the dampers and the aerodynamics and made no worries about the race.
When the light changed to green it was polesitter Sebastian Philippe who took the lead. Brian Smith who shared the front row with Philippe made a mistake on the second lap which saw the battle for the lead going between Philippe and Coronel. The Frenchman had saved a set of fresh tyres for the race which gave him an advantage on the opening laps of the race. Tom however had a better set-up which reduced his tyrewear in comparison to Philippe. This enabled the Dutchman to close in. Tom reduced the initial gap from two seconds to zero on lap 26. In the Toyota corner Tom attacked his French opponent on a place where he knew he had an advantage. 'I saw he took a wide line through the Toyota corner and I knew he had tyre problems. Then I positioned my car so that he could not see me in his mirrors. About the passing move Tom said:'I saw the gap and thought: What the hell let's just go for it'.
His victory looked in danger for a moment as the safetycar was sent out because of a spun car in the Tarzancorner. This way Tom lost his advantage on Philippe. The safetycar went back into the pits again with only one lap to race. Tom made a good restart and Philippe a bad one. This way the victory was for Tom, much to the delight of the 71,000 spectators that came to Zandvoort and cheered their fellow countryman to victory.
Philippe finished second in the end but had some consolation by winning the Marcel Albers Trophy for setting the fastest lap of the race. Donny Crevels finished eight after a fierce midfield battle.
The full results of the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 are available on our results page
The sixth race of the Japanese Formula 3 championship was won by Tachikawa, whom Tom rates as his main opponent for the Japanese title. Tom did not seem to care about the race result from Japan. 'He won there but I won here' Tom said. 'I will just push a bit harder next time'.
The Tom's team will go back to Japan on Tuesday. Tom will follow them a week or three later to race in the next round of the Japanese F3 series on 7 September at Sendai.
2 August 1997
Fourth place for Coronel at Masters grid
Tom Coronel will start the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race from the fourth place on the grid. The Dutchman did a fine job by being quickest in his group. Unfortunately as yesterday the Group A drivers had the advantage of going out onto the track earlier which enabled them to go faster. As the times of the Group A and B drivers were combined for the overall result Tom saw three drivers of the A group go in front of him.
It was clear that most of the work had to be done early on in the day. Group A saw some surprising results with Sebastian Phillipe setting the fastest time (1m02.001s) and Donny Crevels setting the fifth time (1m02.166).
The morning session of Group B was redflagged towards the end. Tom used this obigatory stay in the pits to put on new tyres. In the remaining minutes he stormed to the top of the list with a time of 1m02.086s. Virtually all of the drivers set their quick times in the morning session. Tom knew he could not improve in the second session so he decided to do some race set-up work. The team made some changes to the roll-bar between the sessions and Tom said he found some very interesting information about the set-up. Let's hope he can use it to his advantage tomorrow. All signs are there for an exciting race. The distance in time between polesitter Philippe and the final direct qualifier on position 28 is only 0.7 seconds.
The race will start tomorrow with Sebastien Philippe on pole position with Brian Smith and Jonny Kane standing in front of Tom. Donny Crevels will start from a surprising sixth place. Unfortunately Tim Coronel will not start. He had to fight his way into the race via the qualification race. During his battle to finish in the top four he was hit by another car which damaged his rear wing.
1 August 1997
Marlboro Masters weekend kicks off at Zandvoort
The Marlboro Masters weekend is underway now. Today the Formula 3 drivers got their first tracktime with two free practice sessions for every driver. Because of the large amount of entries the field is split in two groups, one for drivers with an odd starting numbers and one for the even ones. As Tom is driving with number 56, he is placed in group B.
In the morning two sessions were held, one for each group. Group A had the advantage of the early tracktime as the Zandvoort track is always quicker at that period.
Last year's runner up in the race Jonny Kane was quickest in the morning session with a time of 1m02.004s. Tim Coronel who is also placed in this group was 21th quickest, Donny Crevels 13th.
Tom Coronel was the second quickest man in Group B. He was half a second slower than Nicolas Minassian. The French Dallara Renault driver set a time of 1m02.534s. After the morning practice Tom was a bit dissapionted. He said they still had an awful lot of work to do on the setup of the car. The (Japanese) TOM'S team had never been to Zandvoort before so there was no previous data that could be used. The gear ratios were not completely correct in this session and the aerodynamic- and mechanical set-up was far from perfect. Although Tom is driving on Bridgestone tyres in Japan he said he did not really have an advantage on his competitors who are not used to the Japanese rubber because a different compount is used at Zandvoort.
After a troubled morning session Tom hoped his car would improve in the afternoon. He was right and sounded much more positive at the end of the day. He said the changes in the damper set-up and the gearbox had worked out well. Mark Webber was the fastest man in group A in the afternoon but the Alan Docking Racing driver could not touch the time of Kane set this morning. Nicolas Minassian set an incredibly quick time in Group B. He was the only driver in the afternoon to go below 1m03s. Tom was again second quickest in this session with a time of 1m03.320s, no improvement on his morning time but he came close.
The afternoon session of Group B saw some rain coming down however it was never enough to consider wet weather tyres. Rain or no rain some drivers manage to spin under any condition. Each practice session was stopped at least once to remove spun cars from the gravel traps which promises something for tomorrow when it really matters.
Tom is hoping to improve tomorrow as he is now ninth overall. Especially for this weekend his Dallara Toyota is painted in the red and white Marlboro colours.
For a complete overview of the times set in each session we refer to the results page of the Circuit Park Zandvoort.
31 July 1997
New pictures on Career overview page
You can now see some of the cars Tom drove earlier in his career on the renewed career overview page. The Marlboro Masters weekend is about to start. Tomorrow the Formula 3 cars will drive two free practice sessions. We will bring you the latest info from the Masters every day so keep watching...
28 July 1997
Live action from Zandvoort on the web
The races of the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort on 3 August can be seen live on the Web. The Circuit Park Zandvoort and Facing Facts will bring the pictures via a webcam on a special page. The pictures can be seen without needing to download extra software.
27 July 1997
Willy Weber backs up Tom Coronel
Willy Weber, the manager of Michael and Ralf Schumacher has said he wanted to help Tom Coronel in his career. Tom drove for Weber's Formula 3 team in 1995 and the two have stayed in contact ever since. Weber said he is prepared to help Coronel finding a Formula 3000 drive.
20 July 1997
Cavallino tuning helps out Tom & TOM'S
The TOM'S team will get assistance from the Dutch Cavallino Tuning outfit for it's preparation for the Marlboro Masters. The outfit of Peter van Erp will provide the facilities and logistics needed to run the car at Zandvoort. On Monday before the race Coronel's Dallara Toyota will arrive from Japan. The car will then be re-assembled at the Cavallino workshop by the Japanese TOM'S engineers. Friday 1 August everything should be ready for the first practice session.
3 August 1997
Tom Coronel to race at Marlboro Masters
The decision is there!! Tom will drive the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort on August 3. Coronel got the permission to miss out on the 6th round of the Japanese championship at Sugo. Tom will drive his Japanese Dallara Toyota and is to be engineered by his own crew. The only condition for Tom was that he covered the costs for the whole trip himself, but he found some extra backing from "Hans Verkerk Keukens" and Marlboro.
Tom now hopes to put the record straight after his misfortune at Monaco. With the addition of Coronel to the race, the Dutch crowd have an outright favourite to cheer for again. The last time that happened was in 1993 when Jos Verstappen dominated the weekend. Tom said he hopes to equal Verstappen's performance but knows he has a difficult task ahead.
Check out the full program of the Marlboro Masters at the website of the Circuit Park Zandvoort.
15 July 1997
Tom Coronel waiting for Masters go-ahead
There is still no definitive decision about the participation of Tom Coronel in the Marlboro Masters on 3 August. Tom expects the definitive yes or no within a few days. He is still very positive about Zandvoort but some things still need to be sorted out.
To be continued....
9 July 1997
Provisional Masters entrylist released
The organisers of the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 have published a provisional entrylist for the race at 3 August. The list can be found at the
website of the Circuit Park Zandvoort. As the list is dated on 1 July there is no definitive information about the participation of Tom Coronel on it. A decision about this is due later this week.
Amongst the favourites for the most important Formula 3 race of the year are Monaco winner Nick Heidfeld and last year's runner up Jonny Kane. Both drivers are leading their national F3 series. Another man to be reckoned with is Bas Leinders. The Belgian is driving his first season in Formula 3 but both he and his team Van Amersfoort racing know the Zandvoort track like the back of their hand.
Dutch entries for the race are Donny Crevels and Tim Coronel, let's just hope that they will be joined by a third one in August...
8 July 1997
Kalff and Huisman to drive DRP Lotus
The Lotus Esprit GT1 of Tom Coronel's managing agency Dutch Racing Promotions will be driven by Formula 1 commentator Allard Kalff and DUTCH touringcarracer Duncan Huisman this weekend. DRP entered the car for a round of the British Privilege Insurance GT championship which is supporting the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Will Gollop, a former rallycross driver will take care of the engineering of the car.
7 July 1997
Coronel reflects on Suzuka race
Just some extra info about the race of last Sunday. Tom started the race from pole position, something that could be due to a late night decision on the type of frontwing they would use on the car. After the race Tom said that he considers Yuji Tachikawa, who finished second as his main rival for the rest of the season.
This week Tom is trying to convince his bosses in Japan that he should drive the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort at 3 August instead of the Sugo championship race. The problem is that the team and their sponsors are all contracted to the Japanese championship. Tom himself gives his preference to the Zandvoort race and is totally confident he can still win the championship even if he misses one race.
Most of the info mentioned above came from Tom himself. He was interviewed in the Rinkeldekinkel radio show at Radio Veronica this morning. Diskjockey Jeroen van Inkel said he want to bring an update on Tom's activities every Monday after a race. Rinkeldekinkel is broadcasted every morning from 7:00 until 9:00 and can be received on cable radio and medium wave (828kHz and 1224kHz AM).
Thanks to Mitsuhiko Ishii you can see the Suzuka results on our results page.
6 July 1997
Fourth victory for Tom Coronel
Tom Coronel won the fifth race of the Japanese Formula 3 championship. The Dutchman headed Yuji Tachikawa by almost four seconds. During the race at Suzuka which was held under very hot circumstances, Tom had a fierce battle with Tachikawa. Coronel's Japanese rival had a higher topspeed down the straights but Tom managed to stay in the lead from start to finish. Apart from winning Tom also set the fastest lap today.
With his fourth victory this season, Coronel is still leading the championship. He now has a 18 points margin on Takeshi Tsuchiya who finished sixth today. Later this week he will make a decision about participating in the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort held at 3 August. It is going to be a bit of a dillema for Tom because he also has a race at Sugo for the Japanese Championship on the same day.
The top 6 results are now available on our results page.
3 July 1997
New Dutch Motorsports TV programme
The new motorracing program "Nederland Raceland" will start at Sunday 20 July. It will be broadcasted on Veronica, a Dutch TV station which can be received by cable and digital satelite TV. Nederland raceland will show a variety of national and international races. As mentioned before on this page new episodes will be shown during non-F1 Sundays and are to be presented by Jeroen van Inkel.
1 July 1997
Coronel out for more points
Next Sunday Tom Coronel will try to extend his lead in the Japanese Formula 3 championship. To prepare himself for this, he tested the car at Fuji recently. Tom is currently leading the championship with 33 points, his next rival is Takeshi Tsuchiya with 23 points.
21 June 1997
DRP to enter Lotus GT car at British GP support race
Former rallycross driver Will Gollop will probably drive the Dutch Racing Promotions Lotus Esprit V8 at a GT support race for the British Grand Prix next month. Gollop's company G-Tech and DRP are currently preparing the car. No definite choice has been done about the drivers yet. Will Gollop may drive the car himself and could be assisted by one of the DRP drivers. Among them are the Coronel brothers, Duncan Huisman and Phil Bastiaans. Formula 1 commentator Allard Kalff is also said to be in the frame. Factory Lotus driver Jan Lammers will test the car at Zandvoort the next couple of weeks. Apart from the GP supporter the team is planning to contest the Privilege Insurance GT race at Brands Hatch while a full British or FIA GT championship attack is planned for 1998.
18 June 1997
Nederland Raceland
Some more news about the new Dutch motorsports program "Nederland Raceland". The progam will be shown on RTL4 every other week when there is no Grand Prix. It will start this summer and is scheduled for the late afternoon.
17 June 1997
Artist impresson of Tom at Monaco
Hans Molenaar sent us a picture of Tom racing at Monaco. You can see it at the result page of the Monaco F3 race.
Donny Crevels has restarted his motorsport career in Italian Formula 3. The Dutchman who won the Opel Lotus Nations Cup together with Tom Coronel will drive for the Prema Power team, indeed, it is the same team that Coronel drove for at Monaco last year.
5 June 1997
Added info Fuji race
We have some more info about the Fuji race of last weekend for you.
Tom started the race from pole position. When the light changed to green Tom's car was rolling a bit so he had to touch the brakes to prevent a jump-start. The engine almost stalled but Coronel managed to keep it running. At the first corner the Dutchman was able to take the lead and kept it until the end of the race. He gradually ran away from the rest of the field and in doing so he set the fastest lap of the race.
Coronel had a 15 second lead over Takeshi Tsuchiya when he passed the chequered flag. Tom and his team were extremely delighted with this win, particulary because the team had never won a Formula 3 race at Fuji. Tom said the chosen gear ratio's might have given him a major contribution to his victory. All other drivers had mounted a 5-speed gearbox while Tom had only 4 gears. The TOM'S Toyota had a very short first gear enabling Coronel to make a rocket start.
Please note that we have a new URL for this page. You can now call us at http://www.coronel.club.tip.nl The old URL can still be used.
3 June 1997
Coronel wins fourth round F3 championship
Due to some technical gremlins caused by new equipment of our provider this page has been down for a while, our apologies for that. We have however some very good news to compensate the down-time. Tom Coronel has won the fourth race of the Japanese championship. The Dutchman led from pole position to score his third win of the season. He headed his rivals in the championship Tsuchiya and Tachikawa who are now second and third.
Coronel who also set the fastest lap in the race now has a lead of 10 points in the championship. The next Japanese F3 race will be on 6 July at Suzuka.
Thanks to Mitsuhiko Ishii we can bring you the complete results of the race.
Apart from Tom we also congratulate Arie Luyendijk on his second Indy 500 victory last week.
We have some more good news for the Dutch Motorracing fans. Veronica deejay Jeroen van Inkel, well known for his enthusiasm for motorracing is starting up a new T.V. show about racing. The program will probably be called "Nederland Raceland" and will feature the Japanese and German Formula 3 championships (with the Coronel brothers of course), Formula 1, Dutch touring cars and The Dutch Renault Megane trophy in which Van Inkel is competing himself this year. When we have more details we will let you know as soon as possible.
3 August 1997
Tom Coronel second at Mine
Tom Coronel finished second in the third round of the Japanese Formula 3 championship. The Dutchman finished runner up to Dallara-HKS Mitsubishi driver Takeshi Tsuchiya. Tom's teammate Shingo Tachi finished in third place. Tom Coronel, who started from second place on the grid today, maintains his lead in the championship.
Thanks to the contribution of Mitsuhiko Ishii the complete results of the race are now available on the results page.
Also available are the complete results of the Monaco Formula 3 race.
10 May 1997
Tom Coronel crashes out in first corner at Monaco
The Monaco Formula 3 race was won by Nick Heidfeld. The German who tested a Formula 1 McLaren earlier this year headed his fellow countryman Wolf Henzler by 22s.
Unfortunately Tom Coronel did not make it to the finish. He was leading the field into the first corner after poleman Heidfeld made a bad start. When Tom came into the Ste. Devote corner his wheels locked up with only little brake pressure applied. His right rear tyre appeared to be punctured by André Couto's front wing. The Portugese driver had started directly behind the bad starting Heidfeld and had to take avoiding action. The puncture resulted in Coronel spinning of into the guardrail and a chain reaction of no less than 14 cars hitting each other. Coronel's race was of course ended and although there was to be a restart, Tom's car was too heavily damaged to be repaired in time. "I would never have given this lead away, it was really tough luck", said Coronel.
After the restart Heidfeld made no more mistakes and won the race easily. Coronel is now on his way back to Japan, his next race will be at Mine the coming weekend.
9 May 1997
Coronel takes front row position at Monaco
Tom Coronel will start from second place on the grid tomorrow for the F3 race in Monaco. The Dutchman was on a provisional pole position with only a few minutes to go in the final qualifying session. Nick Heidfeld however got ahead in the dying moments of practice and took pole with 0.3s. Unfortunately Tim Coronel will not race on Saturday. His car sustained unrepairable damage after a crash in qualifying
Tom Coronel was also second quickest in the first qualifying session at Monaco. Nick Heidfeld was the fastest man on Thursday. Tom's brother Tim set the 22nd time in that session.
7 May 1997
Coronel twins accepted at Monaco
We will have a Coronel family affair after all in Monaco this weekend!! After negotiations between the Dutch Motorsports Federation (KNAF) and the Automobil Club de Monaco, Tim Coronel has got an last minute entry for the race. Earlier Tim was not given a normal entry due to a misunderstanding (see the 5 May news). Tom's twin brother was invited under the condition that his team would not take up any extra space in the overcrowded Monaco paddock. A solution could be found with the friendly coorperation of Van Amersfoort racing which will now host the TOM'S team (Tom), the Tokmakidis team (Tim) and of course their own car for Bas Leinders. Both Tom and Tim drove for Van Amersfoort in Formula Opel.
So after all we will get the premiere of two twin brothers racing each other in Formula 3.
6 May 1997
Coronel tests for Monaco
After a succesful testsession on the French Croix en Ternois circuit Tom Coronel is looking forward to Saturday's Formula 3 race at Monaco. Because of the bumpy and twisty characteristics of the circuit the team got a lot of useful information to find a good setup for the similar Monaco track.
Also present at Croix en Ternois was Nick Heidfeld, the leader in the German F3 championship. Coronel sees the German as his main rival for Saturday. He was proven right when Heidfeld lapped 0.1s quicker.
5 May 1997
Tom Coronel to race at Monaco
Tom Coronel is seen as one of the favourites for the Monaco Formula 3 race by the international press. Last year Tom finished second in a car that was new to him and was engineered by the Italian Prema team for this race only. This year Coronel will race the very same Dallara Toyota in which he won the first two races of the Japanese F3 series. The TOM'S team will come to Monaco with their own Japanese engineers and equipment. By doing this it will be the first Japanese F3 team ever to enter the race.
Before the race the team will test in France with the Michelin control tyres. The TOM'S team will be assisted by the Dutch Van Amersfoort team which will supply hospitality and logistic aid. Coronel will see some familiar faces in Monte Carlo as he drove them in Formula Opel. The TOM'S team will travel back to Japan immediately after the race as the next round of the Japanese championship will be held the following weekend
Unfortunately Tom will not be able to race against his twin brother Tim at Monaco as originally planned.
The reason? The organisation at Monaco received two applications for a certain T. Coronel, they thought it had to be a mistake and threw one of them in the bin! This way only Tom has got an entry for the race.
The race at Monaco will be held over 24 laps, next Saturday at 17:00. Two practice sessions of 30 minutes will be held on Thursday and Friday.
23 April 1997
Tom Coronel wins second Formula 3 round
Tom Coronel won the second race of the Japanese Formula 3 series. He started the race at Tsukuba from pole position and built up a comfortable lead. While fighting for second place, Tsuchiya and Wakisaka touched and caused a big mess behind them. The pacecar was brought out for six laps. After the restart Tom got away from the rest of the field again.
Towards the end of the race Tom suffered from gearbox problems. The Dutchman could not use fifth gear of his Dallara-Toyota, however he was far enough ahead to nurse the car home to his second victory of the season. Takeshi Tsuchiya finished in second while the final podium place went to Shigekazu Wakisaka.
Click here to look at the results of the race.
11 April 1997
Suzuka race results online
Results of the Suzuka race are now available. This season we plan to bring all the results of Tom's F3 races in our F3 race overview.
30 March 1997
Perfect start for Tom Coronel in Japan
Tom Coronel made a fantastic start to the new Japanese Formula 3 season. He won the first race of the championship at Suzuka!!
He won the race in front of a crowd of 55.000 people who were looking at a spectacular fight between polesitter Tsuchiya and Coronel. The race was held under damp conditions although most drivers raced on slicks. In the end Tom won the 17 lap race in front of Tachikawa and Wakisaka
Tom was very enthusiastic about the new chassis, a Dallara in stead of the teams own TOM'S car. He said that the new car is a lot stiffer which results in better roadholding. The car does not suffer so much from under- or oversteer anymore according to Coronel.
That and the new Toyota engine gives a three second advantage on last years car. It goes without saying that Tom is already looking forward to the next race on Tsukuba on 20 April.
25 January 1997
Possible Masters entry for Tom Coronel
Despite a clashing event in the Japanese Formula 3 series Tom Coronel does not rule out that he will be competing in the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort. Currently a solution for the clashing dates is being worked at in Japan. However if the races remain at the same date, Tom will look at the standings in the Japanese series if he can permit to miss a race. Coronel says he owes his sponsors a favour to compete in this event.
The manager of the Coronel twins, Hans Willem te Pas has bought one of the 1996 factory Lotus Esprit GT cars. He intends to enter the car in GT2 in 1997. Potential drivers can buy a drive for one or more races. Tom and Tim Coronel are also in the frame to do a couple of races.
16 January 1997
New race calender online
The 1997 calender of the Japanese Formula 3 championship can be found on our 1997 F3 Calender page. Unfortunately the Marlboro Masters race at Zandvoort once again clashes with a race of the Japanese championship so it is unlikely that we will see a Coronel 1-2 at the prestigious Masters event in August.
14 January 1997
Coronel twins both in Formula 3 this year
Tom and Tim Coronel will both drive in Formula 3 in 1997. As anounced yesterday, Tim will contest the German series. In fact he will drive a Dallara Opel for the Tokmakidis team, the former WTS outfit from Willy Weber. Tom decided to continue in the Japanese series with TOM'S Toyota. The car Tom will drive is a Dallara and not the team's own chassis he drove last year. Both Tim and Tom hope to drive the Monaco, Zandvoort and Macau shoot-out races, if they do not clash with the regular races.
13 January 1997
Coronel comments on Nippon test
Just some extra info about the Formula Nippon test Tom did at Suzuka. Coronel said he was very pleased with the test. "This is really a lot faster than what I'm used to. It really gives me a kick if you look at the cornering speeds we are doing" Tom said. He set a fastest time of 1m44.8s which is just 1.4s slower that Jos Verstappen's qualifying time for the Japanese Grand Prix last year. Despite being very enthusiastic about Formula Nippon Tom decided not to continue with this team. This is partly due to the dissapointing results of the Navi team in '96 when both drivers finished outside the top 10 in the final standings. Unless he is offered a good F3000 deal Tom will continue in Japanese Formula 3 with TOM'S
Meanwhile Tom's twin brother Tim signed a contract to contest the German Formula 3 series with help from Dutch Racing Promotions.
8 January 1997
Tom Coronel tests Navi Formula Nippon
Tom Coronel tested a Formula Nippon car at Suzuka just before Christmas. He drove the Reynard 95D-Mugen of the Navi Connection team which entered Masahiko Kageyama and Masahiko Kondo in the 1996 championship. Tom is hoping to move up to Formula 3000 or Formula Nippon (=Japanese F3000) this year. Coronel has already had an offer to stay with the TOM'S team in Japanese Formula 3.