FNIPPON: Tom Coronel Fuji Report

With his victory in the seventh round of the Formula Nippon championship Dutch driver Tom Coronel further increased his lead in the championship. The race was held at the Fuji Speedway where Tom already won a Formula Nippon race earlier this year.

With his victory in the seventh round of the Formula Nippon championship Dutch driver Tom Coronel further increased his lead in the championship. The race was held at the Fuji Speedway where Tom already won a Formula Nippon race earlier this year. Apart from winning today's race Tom also headed qualifying and the warm-up this weekend. Because of his victory Tom now has a lead of 10 points to Satoshi Motoyama. After today's results Coronel, who is supported this year by Marlboro, Mobil 1, Bakker Bart, McGregor, Bridgestone and Honda, is full of confidence for the remainder of the season.

We can look back to another great weekend", Tom started his story of the weekend. "In practice it was exciting as ever. Every lap somebody posted a faster time. Fortunately the last one to do so was me. In the end the differences between Motoyama and Wakisaka were only hundredths of seconds. The practice sessions were held under much cooler conditions than the race. The second qualifying session was held in the wet and saw very few cars out on the track. Fortunately it was dry for the race although the disadvantage for us drivers was that the temperature increased to 30 degrees Celsius. That we made the right choices for the race setup was underlined by our fastest time in the warm-up. All in all preparations were done perfectly and fully according to plan.

My start was good, but not too good. I was slightly hit by Wakisaka which enabled Motoyama to benefit and take the lead. I followed him in second. In the corners my car was clearly faster and I retook the lead on the first lap. Once I was leading first I concentrated on increasing my lead. Later in the race it appeared that this was the right thing to do. Because of the high temperature of the tarmac the tyres went off quite soon and I lost grip lap after lap. This caused a lot of oversteer in the car, but fortunately my lead was big enough to sacrifice a bit in the second part of the race. And, although I was under pressure for the whole race I knew that nobody could stop me from taking victory today. Of course this result is perfect for the championship, especially as my main opponent, reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama, finished in third position and lost some valuable points. I saw that he had a bit more wing on his car, which will cost you some top speed on the long straight. The speed at the end of the straight is about 320km/h and you could say that the setting of the rear wing is vital for the topspeed and therefore the result. Any way I am extremely satisfied with it. With three races still to go the championship comes within reach and of course that's my main target for this year", Coronel concluded.

Result: 1. Tom Coronel 50 laps in 1.06.53.297; 2. Juichi Wakisaka 1.06.55.221; 3. Satoshi Motoyama 1.07.03.813; 4. Hidetoshi Mitsusada 1.07.13.068; 5. Peter Dumbreck in 1.07.16.102; 6. Katsutomo Kaneishi in 1.07.16.916.

Standings after 7 races: 1. Tom Coronel 46 ; 2. Satoshi Motoyama 36; 3. Hidetoshi Mitsusada 19; 4. Peter Dumbreck 14; 5. Masami Kageyama 11 6. Ralph Firman 11.

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<html> To the Motorsport press:

Herewith I send you the press release of Tom Coronel after the 7th race of the Formula Nippon championship.

If you have any further questions please let me know.
For the latest news about Tom Coronel you can log on to Tom's homepage http://www.coronel.nl

Kind regards,
Harold Bouwmeester
Webmaster Tom Coronel Homepage

Tom Coronel wins Fuji Formula Nippon race and increases championship lead

With his victory in the seventh round of the Formula Nippon championship Dutch driver Tom Coronel further increased his lead in the championship. The race was held at the Fuji Speedway where Tom already won a Formula Nippon race earlier this year. Apart from winning today's race Tom also headed qualifying and the warm-up this weekend. Because of his victory Tom now has a lead of 10 points to Satoshi Motoyama. After today's results Coronel, who is supported this year by Marlboro, Mobil 1, Bakker Bart, McGregor, Bridgestone and Honda, is full of confidence for the remainder of the season.

We can look back to another great weekend", Tom started his story of the weekend. "In practice it was exciting as ever. Every lap somebody posted a faster time. Fortunately the last one to do so was me. In the end the differences between Motoyama and Wakisaka were only hundredths of seconds. The practice sessions were held under much cooler conditions than the race. The second qualifying session was held in the wet and saw very few cars out on the track. Fortunately it was dry for the race although the disadvantage for us drivers was that the temperature increased to 30 degrees Celsius. That we made the right choices for the race setup was underlined by our fastest time in the warm-up. All in all preparations were done perfectly and fully according to plan.

My start was good, but not too good. I was slightly hit by Wakisaka which enabled Motoyama to benefit and take the lead. I followed him in second. In the corners my car was clearly faster and I retook the lead on the first lap. Once I was leading first I concentrated on increasing my lead. Later in the race it appeared that this was the right thing to do. Because of the high temperature of the tarmac the tyres went off quite soon and I lost grip lap after lap. This caused a lot of oversteer in the car, but fortunately my lead was big enough to sacrifice a bit in the second part of the race. And, although I was under pressure for the whole race I knew that nobody could stop me from taking victory today. Of course this result is perfect for the championship, especially as my main opponent, reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama, finished in third position and lost some valuable points. I saw that he had a bit more wing on his car, which will cost you some top speed on the long straight. The speed at the end of the straight is about 320km/h and you could say that the setting of the rear wing is vital for the topspeed and therefore the result. Any way I am extremely satisfied with it. With three races still to go the championship comes within reach and of course that's my main target for this year", Coronel concluded.

Result:
1. Tom Coronel 50 laps in 1.06.53.297;
2. Juichi Wakisaka 1.06.55.221;
3. Satoshi Motoyama 1.07.03.813;
4. Hidetoshi Mitsusada 1.07.13.068;
5. Peter Dumbreck in 1.07.16.102;
6. Katsutomo Kaneishi in 1.07.16.916.

Standings after 7 races:
1. Tom Coronel 46 ;
2. Satoshi Motoyama 36;
3. Hidetoshi Mitsusada 19;
4. Peter Dumbreck 14;
5. Masami Kageyama 11
6. Ralph Firman 11.

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