Sonoma may refer to:

• Sonoma County, California, a county in northern California
  • Several wine regions in Sonoma County including:
  • Sonoma Coast AVA
  • Sonoma Mountain AVA
  • Sonoma Valley AVA
• Sonoma, California, the city for which the county is named
• Sonoma Valley, the region in Sonoma County in which Sonoma is the largest settlement and only incorporated city
• Sonoma Valley Airport
• Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
• Sonoma County Museum
• Sonoma State Historic Park
• Sonoma State Observatory
• Sonoma Mountain
• Sonoma Mountains
• Lake Sonoma
• Sonoma Creek, the main watercourse forming Sonoma Valley
• Sonoma Skypark
• Sonoma International Film Festival
• Sonoma State University, located in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County, California
• GMC Sonoma, a model of pickup truck
• Sonoma, the code name for an Intel Centrino platform (see Centrino#Sonoma platform)
• Sonoma diet
• Sonoma Plaza
• Williams-Sonoma, a housewares company
• Sonoma Valley Sun, Sonoma Valley newspaper and web portal
• Sonoma College, a college based in Papua New Guinea
• Sonoma, a generic brand of cigarettes
• USS Sonoma, ships of the US Navy
• Infineon Raceway, formerly known as Sears Point Raceway and described as Sonoma Raceway by NASCAR

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

David Blaney
Born	(1962-10-24) October 24, 1962 (age 49) Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio
Achievements	1984 USAC Silver Crown Champion[1] 1995 World of Outlaws Champion
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
409 race(s) run over 15 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 36 (Tommy Baldwin Racing)
2011 position	32nd
Best finish	19th – 2002
First race	1992 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 28 2
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
121 race(s) run over 12 year(s)
Best finish	7th – 1999
First race	1998 NAPA Auto Parts 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2009 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2006 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 31 7
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
2 race(s) run over 2 year(s)
Best finish	74th – 2004
First race	2004 MBNA America 200 (Dover)
Last race	2007 Ford 200 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series career
1 race(s) run over 1 year(s)
Best finish	71st - 2002
First race	2002 Canada Day Shootout (Cayuga)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 24, 2012.

David Blaney (born October 24, 1962 in Hartford Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, United States) is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He currently drives the #36 Chevrolet Impala for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Blaney was a successful sprint car driver before he started racing in NASCAR. For many years, he was a regular in the Syracuse Nationals in Syracuse, New York, although he never won that event. He owns Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. His son, Ryan Blaney, is also a NASCAR competitor.

Sprint car racing career[link]

This section requires expansion.

Blaney was awarded the 1983 All-Star Sprint Circuit Rookie-of-the-Year.^[1] He raced in the United States Automobile Club (USAC) Silver Crown Series in 1984 and won the national touring series' championship.^[1] Blaney won his first World of Outlaws (WoO) race at Tri-City Speedway in 1985 and won the Championship in 1995.^[1] He also made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut in the #80 Daffron's Body Shop Ford for Hover Motorsports in the 1992 AC Delco 500, finishing 31st. In the 1997 season, he won the Gold Cup, the Eldora Speedway event, and the Knoxville Nationals, which is considered the premiere event in sprint car racing.^[1] He was the first driver who did not defend his Knoxville win, when he moved into NASCAR. After moving to NASCAR, he kept his sprint car team going, fielding a car for his brother Dale and the late Kevin Gobrecht.

NASCAR career[link]

1998–2004[link]

Blaney began his Busch Series career in 1998 with Bill Davis Racing. He signed to drive a Nationwide Series car for Davis, the #93 Amoco Pontiac and in his first season had three sixth-place finishes and a pole position at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The following season, he ran a full-time schedule and won four poles and ended the season a career-best seventh in points. That season, he returned to the Winston Cup series with Davis, earning a best finish of 23rd at Homestead in the #93.

In 2000, Blaney and his Amoco team moved up to Winston Cup full time and posted two-top tens. He would end up finishing third in the NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award standings for the 2000 season.He would return to the Busch Series in 2000 with a limited schedule in BDR’s #20 AT&T Pontiac, gaining a pole position at Charlotte and also finish 3rd twice. In 2001, the team would switch to Dodge and he would compete in all the races with a best finish of 6th, three times. He left Davis at the end of the season because of sponsorship concerns and signed with the #77 Jasper Motorsports team. His best finish during the 2002 season was a 7th at Phoenix. Blaney started the 2003 season with three top-tens and a pole the first five races, but fell to twenty-eighth in points at the end of the season, forcing his release.

Blaney returned to Bill Davis Racing in 2004 for a limited schedule, because of a lack of sponsorship. Part of his deal was making his Craftsman Truck Series debut for Davis in the #23 truck at Dover, where he finished sixth. After two eleventh-place finishes, Blaney joined Richard Childress Racing, taking over the #30 AOL Chevrolet for eight races. After two top-fifteen finishes, he was replaced by Jeff Burton Blaney would also start one race for Roush Racing in the #99 Canteen Vending/Kraft Foods Ford in the place of rookie Carl Edwards, who missed the start due a Craftsman Truck Series race that ran late. Blaney exited the car on Lap 24, and Edwards went on to finish 37th after a crash. He also ran the spring race at Richmond International Raceway for Ultra Motorsports in the #7 Dodge, and finished fortieth.

2005–Present[link]

Blaney returned to Richard Childress Racing in 2005 to drive the #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. During the season he would post two top ten finishes and finished 26th in points. In 2006, he returned to the Bill Davis stable to run the #22 Caterpillar Dodge. His best finish in 2006 came at the Richmond International Raceway, where he finished 4th. He also scored his first Busch Series victory at Lowes Motor Speedway, when Matt Kenseth spun on the last lap and Blaney was in the lead. In 2007, He failed to qualify for three races and finished thirty-first in points. The following season, he had two top-tens and moved up to thirtieth in points.

In 2009, Blaney signed to run the #66 Prism Motorsports Toyota for a full season, getting a best finish of twenty-eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Incidentally, Dave did not qualify for 3 out of the 4 races the team had sponsorship for (Hyde Park was on the car at Las Vegas, and the Denny Hamlin Foundation at Charlotte and Texas). Thus far in the 2010 season, Blaney has a best finish of 29th at Las Vegas and led 3 laps the previous week at Fontana, he has parked his car prior to completion in all but one race this season. For the race at Phoenix, Blaney is piloting the #55 Prism Toyota, with teammate Michael McDowell driving the #66 in an attempt to get both teams in the top 35 in owners points according to team owner Phil Parsons.

Blaney has announced that he will be returning to his roots in dirt track 410 sprint car racing throughout the summer of 2010. So far the "Buckeye Bullet" has been successful in his return posting two top 5 finishes during Ohio Sprint Speedweek and has one feature win thus far as he was triumphant at TRI-CITY Speedway in Franklin Pennsylvania on July, 4, 2010.

Blaney has his sights set on some major events during his summer dirt tour including a stop at family owned Sharon Speedway for the Lou Blaney Memorial and Eldora Speedway for the Kings Royal.

For the remainder of the 2010 Sprint Cup season, Blaney split his time between Front Row Motorsports and Tommy Baldwin Racing. Compared to Prism, both teams have some degree of sponsorship; Front Row Motorsports ran full races while Tommy Baldwin Racing was an occasional start and park entry (For example, Blaney ran the entire race at Loudon in the #36 with only associate sponsorship from Connecticut-based construction company Mohawk Northeast while parking an unsponsored TBR entry at Talladega after 12 laps).

At the 2011 Daytona 500, Blaney received last minute sponsorship from Golden Corral. He led three laps and finished 26th after a late race accident. Dave will pilot the #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet with backing from Accell Construction Inc. in several races this season, the sponsors for the remaining races have yet to be determined. Golden Corral returned at the 2011 Aaron's 499, and Blaney led 21 laps but was spun out by Kurt Busch with 3 to go and finished 27th. He led the second most laps.

On April 27, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced that Blaney and the #36 team would be sponsored by Golden Corral for 19 races and Big Red/ All Sport for 5 races leaving only 3 races without a sponsor.^[2][3] The team did not run the Sprint All-Star Race in May in order to focus on the points-paying events. Dave Blaney finished third in the October Talladega race, which was the best finish for Tommy Baldwin Racing and tied for his best career finish.

During the 2012 Daytona 500, Blaney led after 160 laps. During a caution, shortly after race leaders had made pit stops, Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a dryer truck, which was being used to blow debris from the track. As a result of the crash, the jet fuel that powered the helicopter engine spilled out onto the track and was ignited. NASCAR put the race under a red flag, at which point Blaney had the lead. ^[4] Blaney wound up finishing 15th in the event.

Images[link]

• 

  Blaney after a sprint car win at Port Royal Speedway in 1984

• 

  World of Outlaws sprint car

• 

  Blaney in the #22 car in 2007

• 

  Dave Blaney practicing for the 2007 Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

References[link]

• Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info
• NASCAR driver Blaney a reason racing is so popular

External links[link]

• Official website
• Dave Blaney at Racing Reference

View of the Sonoma Valley

Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry and often called The Valley of the Moon. Sonoma Valley is home to some of the earliest vineyards and wineries in the state, some of which survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s and the impact of Prohibition. Its wineries are generally well prepared for receiving tourists, and Sonoma Valley offers a wide range of year-round festivals and events, including the prestigious Sonoma International Film Festival. Today, this small valley's wines are protected by the US Federal Government's Sonoma Valley and Carneros AVAs (or American Viticultural Areas).

Geography[link]

The valley is located in southeastern Sonoma County between the Mayacamas Mountains and Sonoma Mountains. It stretches from San Pablo Bay in the south to the city of Santa Rosa in the north. Sonoma Creek flows down the valley to the bay. The area includes the incorporated city of Sonoma and part of the City of Santa Rosa, as well as numerous unincorporated communities, including Kenwood and Glen Ellen near Santa Rosa and, near Sonoma, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente.

History[link]

Once a valley of the coastal Miwok, Pomo and Wintun peoples, called the Valley of the Moon in their legends, the valley was selected by the Franciscan order of Spain as the site to build the Mission San Francisco Solano, the northernmost mission in their chain of twenty-one missions built in Alta California. Established in 1823 and named to honor St. Francis Solanus, Mission Solano was the sole California mission established under the rule of a newly-independent Mexico. Within two generations of the Spaniards' arrival, however, the indigenous societies of the region were dispossessed of their land and decimated by diseases to which Europeans were resistant. Soon after the Sonoma mission was built, it was secularized by the Mexican government, and, under the orders of Lieutenant, later General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, el Pueblo de Sonoma (the town of Sonoma) was laid out in the standard form of a Mexican town,^{[citation needed]} centered around the historic plaza, which is still the town's focal point. The raising of the first California Bear Flag and Vallejo's arrest in 1846 by a band of Americans claiming to act on the orders of Col. John C. Fremont was the initial act that founded the Bear Flag Republic.^{[citation needed]} Vallejo later transferred his allegiance with US statehood (1850), and with his amassed land holdings guided the development of the town and dispensed large ranches throughout the valley.^{[citation needed]} California's first wineries were established here, including Buena Vista Winery (1857) and Gundlach Bundschu (1858).

The other communities in the valley, such as Kenwood, Glen Ellen, Schellville, and Boyes Hot Springs, were founded later in the 19th century, some as resorts centered on the geothermic hot springs that still well up from deep within the earth. Boyes Hot Springs and Agua Caliente were popular health retreats for tourists from San Francisco and points beyond until the middle of the 20th century. Today the Sonoma Mission Inn in Boyes Hot Springs remains as a main destination resort, and the wineries, the historic sites, and the area's natural beauty are the main tourist attractions.

The Valley of the Moon (legend)[link]

The phrase Valley of the Moon was first recorded in an 1850 report by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to the California Legislature.^[1]

According to Jack London, who had a ranch there, the Native American word Sonoma means Valley of the Moon. He used it for his book of the same name. But there are several other possible translations for Sonoma (see Sonoma County, California). According to the Miwok tribes that lived in the valley, and the Pomo, it meant "valley of the moon" or "many moons". White settlers may have accidentally translated the words "many moons" into "valley of moons". Miwok legends say that the moon seemingly rose from this valley, or was "nestled" in the valley, or may have even sprung up multiple times in one night.^[2]

Geology[link]

The Sonoma Valley is part of the Coast Range Physiographic provence. Basement rocks that make up the valley at great depth are the Great Valley Sequence shale, sandstone and conglomerate deposited in a continental slope- to abysmal plain environment via turbidite flows. The Cretaceous Great Valley Sequence overlies and contacts the Franciscan Complex along the Coast Range Thrust. The Jurassic-Cretaceous Franciscan Complex includes crumpled, uplifted terranes that have resulted from the subduction of the former oceanic Farallon Plate under the North American continent. During late Miocene-Pliocene time (~10 to ~4 million years) the area was attended by volcanism (Late Miocene Tolay Volcanics and Late Miocene - Pliocene Sonoma Volcanics) which are interbedded with the late Miocene-Pliocene Petaluma Formation. The (~9 to 4 million year old) Petaluma Formation was a fresh-water river system flowing from east to west and through the volcanics. At that time, volcanic lava flows and river sands and gravels were actively deposited together, hence "interbedded lavas and gravels". The volcanoes may have been similar to island arcs. The Petaluma Formation is found in outcrop from Sears Point to Santa Rosa (through Sonoma Mountain) and as far west as Cotati where it interfingers with a marine sandstone called the Wilson Grove Formation. Gravels in the Petaluma Formation did not come from rocks located in Napa, but have been sourced to mountains east of San Jose, California. This does not mean rivers flowed northward from San Jose to Sonoma; rather, strike-slip movement along the Hayward-Sonoma Valley-Carneros fault system has dislocated present-day Sonoma County north and away from the mountains in San Jose where the basin formed.

The valley is drained by Sonoma Creek, whose headwaters rise in Sugarloaf Mountain State Park and discharge into the San Pablo Bay at the Napa Sonoma Marsh. Some of the principal tributaries to Sonoma Creek are Yulupa Creek, Graham Creek, Calabazas Creek, Bear Creek, Schell Creek and Carriger Creek.

Hydrogeology[link]

In the spring of 2006, the United States Geological Survey in conjunction with the Sonoma County Water Agency completed a comprehensive basin-wide groundwater study to characterize groundwater resources in the Sonoma Valley. The report can be obtained on the USGS publications website. Currently, a Basin Advisory Panel, composed of stakeholders from agriculture, environmental groups, domestic well owners, municipalities and government is working to develop a groundwater management plan to protect groundwater resources in the valley.

Points of interest[link]

• Quarryhill Botanic Garden
• Mission San Francisco Solano
• Jack London State Historic Park
• Sonoma State Historic Park
• Sonoma Creek
• Wine Country
• 'The Sonoma Plaza' (The Town Square) and on the Official National Registry of Historic Sites
• Blue Wing Inn of 1840, where such notable guests, according to local tradition, included John C. Frémont, U. S. Grant, Governor Pío Pico, Kit Carson, Fighting Joe Hooker, William T. Sherman, Phil Sheridan, and members of the Bear Flag Party.
• General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Home: Official residence of the last Spanish Governor.
• Presidio of Sonoma adobe:
• Toscono Hotel
• Swiss Hotel - Adobe structure and original home of Vallejo's brother, located on 'The Square' (see link below)
• Sebastiani Theatre - A historical theatre built in 1933 by Samuele Sebastiani as a movie house.
• Sonoma TrainTown Railroad - miniature amusement park
• Depot Park

See also[link]

• Category:Sonoma County wineries
• Sonoma Valley Film Festival
• Infineon Raceway
• The Valley of the Moon (novel)

References[link]

Kroeber, A. L., Handbook of the Indians of California (New York 1976 - reprint of Bulletin 78 of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution 1925)

External links[link]

• Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau
• Overview of Sonoma County geology
• Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Sonoma Valley Film Festival
• Sonoma Valley Wiki
• List of Sonoma Wineries with Free Tastings

Coordinates: 38°22′N 122°30′W / 38.367°N 122.5°W / 38.367; -122.5

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Tom Coronel In 2011, as a WTCC driver Nationality Dutch Born (1972-04-05) 5 April 1972 (age 40) Naarden (Netherlands) Related to Tim Coronel (brother) 2012 World Touring Car Championship Debut season 2005 Current team ROAL Motorsport, BMW Car no. 15 Former teams SR-Sport, GR-Asia Starts 156 Wins 2 Poles 1 Fastest laps 1 Best finish 4th in 2011 Previous series 1990–91 1992, 2001 1992–93 1993 1993 1993 1994 1995 1996–97 1998–99 1998–99, 2003 2000–01, 2004 2001 2001 2002, 2004–05 2002–04 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005/06, 06/07 2007 2007/08 2008, 2009 2008 2009 Dutch Citroën AX Cup Dutch Touring Car Championship Dutch Formula Ford Championship German Formula Ford Italian Touring Car Championship Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series Euroseries Formula Opel German F3 Japanese Formula 3 Formula Nippon Japanese GT Championship FIA GT Championship European Le Mans Series European Superproduction Dutch Winter Endurance Series ETCC Spanish GT Championship Italian Super Touring EuroBOSS American Le Mans Series McGregor Porsche GT3 Cup European Touring Car Cup Dutch Winter Endurance Series BTCC Dutch Winter Endurance Series Le Mans Series Benelux Formula Ford Dakar Rally Championship titles 1991 1992 1993 1994 1997 1997 1999 2004 2006 2009 Dutch Citroën AX Cup Dutch Touring Car Championship Dutch Formula Ford EFDA Nations Cup Japanese Formula 3 Marlboro Masters Formula Nippon ETCC Independents Trophy WTCC Independents Trophy WTCC Independents Trophy Awards 1994 Dutch Driver of the Year

24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1999–2006, 2009 – Teams Racing for Holland, Johansson Motorsport, Spyker Squadron Best finish 8th (2002) Class wins 0

Tom Romeo Coronel (born 5 April 1972 in Naarden) is a Dutch auto racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim (whose middle name is Alfa) is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, the Formula Nippon championship in 1999, and the 2006 and 2009 World Touring Car Championship Independents' Trophy.

He is currently still racing in the WTCC, where he won his first WTCC race in Okayama, Japan in 2008. After competing as an independent driver in a SEAT for many years Tom switched to BMW in 2011. Even though he has no official factory backing, Tom is no longer considered an independent driver, due to his experience and results in the past. Tom has also been racing for the Dutch Spyker Squadron in the Le Mans Series as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans for many years. Furthermore Tom is often invited to join one-off races like the 24 hours at the Nürburgring.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

He started his racing career in 1990 racing in the Dutch Citroën AX Cup, after being named the most talented driver in the local racing school. After a learning debut year, he started to become successful in 1991. With four victories and 105 points he won the title; he also won an international Citroën AX race in Barcelona. He moved up to the Dutch Touring Car Championship in 1992 competing in a BMW 320i. He was crowned champion that same year, beating his older brother and team mate Raymond Coronel. He also started to compete in the Dutch Formula Ford championship, with team Fresh. At the end of 1992 he decided to focus his attention on single seater racing.

He stayed with team Fresh in 1993 and again was a strong competitor. Victorious in three races, he won the Dutch Formula Ford championship that year. Also he came in second in the Benelux championship, behind the Belgian driver Geoffroy Horion (who lost the Dutch championship to Coronel). His participation in a few German Formula Ford races resulted in a handful of podium finishes. He finished ninth in that year's Formula Ford Festival.

European formulae[link]

In 1994 Coronel debuted in the Euroseries Formula Opel Lotus, racing for the Dutch Van Amersfoort Racing team. With eight pole positions and two victories he was successful, but lost the championship to Marco Campos. He won the nations cup for the Netherlands together with Donny Crevels and was elected 'Dutch Driver of the year'. This gave him the funds he needed to compete in the next year's German Formula Three championship.

Racing for the WTS team (which delivered previous champions as Michael Schumacher and Jos Verstappen), he was teamed up with Ralf Schumacher. The team used a Dallara chassis which was powered by Opel engines. Scoring 74 points in sixteen races, he finished seventh in the championship results. He did not perform well in the international Formula Three classics, failing to finish in Macau and Monaco and finishing fifth in the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort.

Moving to the Far East[link]

Coronel decided to search for success far from home, signing up to compete in the Japanese Formula 3 championship with team TOM'S for 1996. He scored his first victory at the Sugo circuit, and this along with five second places earned him the third spot in that years championship. He came in second with the Italian Prema Power team at the annual Monaco Formula Three race.

He stayed with TOM'S for the next season, the team traded in their own chassis for a more competitive Dallara and used Toyota engines. Coronel dominated the championship, winning six out of the seven races he competed in. His lead was so comfortable that he could afford to miss two races to compete in the Macau Grand Prix and Marlboro Masters. Earlier in the year he was taken out in the leading position at the Monaco Formula Three race, but he was successful for his home crowd in Zandvoort. Starting from the fourth position he drove his way to the lead and followed through until the finish, becoming the second Dutchman to win the event after Verstappen.

Formula Nippon[link]

It was time for Coronel to move to the next level. He stayed in Japan in 1998 competing in the Formula Nippon and Japanese GT championship, both for team Nakajima owned by former Formula One driver Satoru Nakajima.

Driving with a Reynard-Toyota combination, his first Formula Nippon season was expected to be a learning year. Coronel had a relatively poor season, due to some bad luck and the team having never previously worked with a non-Japanese driver. He performed much better in the GT championship. Sharing a Honda NSX with Japanese driver Koji Yamanishi the title was in sight until the last race. Eventually they finished second when the car broke down in the formation lap of the last race.

No changes in Coronel's programme were seen for 1999. In Formula Nippon he proved to be a strong contender for the championship title. At first his main rival reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama build up an advantage over Coronel. But during the year Coronel fought his way back to the front of the championship. Winning his first race at Fuji Speedway he led Motoyama with four points into the last race at Suzuka. Driving side by side a slow starting Coronel and Motoyama crashed into each other in the first corner of the race. Since there were no other competitors for the title Coronel was instantly (but controversially) champion. He was not as successful in the Japanese GT that year, having no chances on the title. Tom made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jan Lammers' Racing for Holland. Teaming up with Lammers and Peter Kox the team kept up with the factory teams, but had to stop after 213 laps due to technical failure.

Formula 1 test[link]

After his Japanese successes Coronel had gained some attention and he decided to focus his energy on finding a Formula One seat. In order to finance his Formula One ambitions, an investment plan was initiated. People could invest in Coronel by buying stocks in 'the Racing Dutchman B.V.'. When Coronel would become successful in Formula one investers would be repaid. Eventually the plan failed because some of the investors failed to meet the agreements. Coronel tested once for the Arrows team,^[1] but lost the chance for a seat in favour of Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa. Since Coronel had focused his full attention to Formula One, he found himself without a drive for the beginning of the 2000 racing season. He drove Le Mans for the second time with Racing for Holland and competed in some FIA GT races with Mike Hezemans.

Return to racing[link]

With little racing distance covered last year, Coronel wanted to race a full season in 2001. He signed up for the works BMW team to compete in the Dutch Touring Car Championship. Just for the start of the season he was contacted by Lister to compete in the FIA GT Championship. Coronel agreed but had to miss some races since he already signed for BMW. He won races in both championships that year. Also he would compete with Stefan Johansson's team at Le Mans that year, but Johansson retired in the first part of the race.

Coronel moved to the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) in 2002, he participated for Carly Motors alongside Peter Kox and Gianni Morbidelli. They could not keep up with the works teams, but Coronel still harvested three podium finishes. He stayed with Carly in 2003 but had a 2002 spec chassis for most of the season and struggling to keep up. He and Duncan Huisman won the independents trophy for Carly Motors. He also made a one year return to the Japanese GT, winning one race in a now outdated Honda NSX. The 2004 ETCC season was very similar for him, although his teammate was now Paulien Zwart, his partner. They won the independents team trophy for the second consecutive year and Coronel won the independent drivers title. He finished his first Le Mans race with Racing for Holland in 2002, finishing eighth in the overall standings. He also made the finish in 2003, this time with a Spyker C8. Returning to Racing for Holland in 2004 he formed a high profile line up with Justin Wilson and Ralph Firman. However they failed to finish the race. There were some rumours that he had signed a third driver deal with Minardi,^[2] but there was never a contract.

WTCC[link]

Coronel driving the SEAT León TFSI in the second race at the 2008 WTCC Race of Japan in Okayama. He managed to hold off a charging Augusto Farfus and won his first WTCC race.

The European Touring Car Championship changed its format to a World Championship in 2005 and Coronel moved teams. He left Carly to join up with Team GR Asia, which used the SEAT Toledo. Coronel had a strong year in which he just missed the Independents trophy in the last race. His luck changed for the better in 2006. With the all new SEAT León he did clinch the title, his second in three seasons. He continued his participation with team GR Asia in 2007, though less successful. For the final round of the 2007 British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, he raced for SEAT Sport UK to help them win the team's championship and the drivers championship for Jason Plato. In both 2005 and 2006 he drove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Spyker, but failed to finish in both attempts.

In 2008, Coronel competed in the brand-new SUNRED SEAT Team in another León. He got his podium in Oschersleben and remains one of the most popular WTCC drivers. Autosport magazine voted him as one of the 10 best WTCC drivers. In the second race at the Race of Japan, on the Okayama International Circuit, an absolutely stunning drive brought him his first victory in the WTCC.^[3]

In 2009 he was eligible for the Independents' Trophy, which he won for Sunred. In 2010 he is driving a turbo diesel León for the new semi-works SR-Sport team, which is run by Sunred. Tom finished the season 8th, his highest ever. In 2011 Tom changed teams to join ROAL Motorsport, formerly running the works-team BMW Italy-Spain. Tom won the second race at Suzuka, Japan, his second WTCC overall victory.

Dakar Rally[link]

Tom and his twin brother Tim competed in the 2009 edition of the Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile (Buenos Aires–Valparaíso–Buenos Aires). This was Tom's first edition of Dakar, whereas brother Tim already competed in 2007 and was lined up for the 2008 edition which got cancelled at the last moment. The brothers were driving a Bowler Nemesis for the dakarsport.com outfit and backed to Buenos Aires in 70th position overall after crossing two countries in 15 stages for a total of 6,000 km from January 3–18.^[4]

Other activities[link]

The Coronel family owns two indoor go-karting tracks in Huizen and Enschede. Tom co-hosts an automotive programme with Tim and was a regular guest on the Dutch Formula One broadcast until RTL decided not to go on with the studio shows, in favour of more "on track" time during the broadcast.

Coronel is in a relationship with racing driver Paulien Zwart and they have a daughter and a son together. The pair were teammates at Carly Motors in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship season. Pauline is the daughter of Ascari Cars owner Klaas Zwart, who also raced for Carly in 2004.

Racing record[link]

Complete WTCC results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• * Season in progress.

24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1999	LMP	26	D	Lola B98/10 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	Konrad Motorsport Talkline Racing for Holland	Jan Lammers Peter Kox	213	DNF	DNF
2000	LMP900	20	D	Lola B2K/10 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	Konrad Motorsport Racing for Holland	Jan Lammers Peter Kox	38	DNF	DNF
2001	LMP900	4	M	Audi R8 Audi 3.6L Turbo V8	Johansson Motorsport	Stefan Johansson Patrick Lemarié	35	DNF	DNF
2002	LMP900	16	M	Dome S101 Judd GV4 4.0L V10	Racing for Holland B.V.	Jan Lammers Val Hillebrand	351	8th	7th
2003	GT	85	D	Spyker C8 Double-12R Audi 4.0L V8	ST Team Orange Spyker	Norman Simon Hans Hugenholtz	229	NC	NC
2004	LMP1	16	D	Dome S101 Judd GV4 4.0L V10	Racing for Holland	Justin Wilson Ralph Firman	313	NC	NC
2005	GT2	85	D	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R Audi 3.8L V8	Spyker Squadron b.v.	Peter van Merksteijn, Sr. Donny Crevels	76	DNF	DNF
2006	GT2	85	M	Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R Audi 3.8L V8	Spyker Squadron b.v.	Donny Crevels Peter Dumbreck	40	DNF	DNF
2009	GT2	85	M	Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R Audi 3.8L V8	Snoras Spyker Squadron	Jeroen Bleekemolen Jaroslav Janiš	319	25th	5th
2010	GT2	85	M	Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R Audi 4.0L V8	Spyker Squadron	Peter Dumbreck Jeroen Bleekemolen	280	27th	9th

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tom Coronel

• Official Tom Coronel website (Dutch) (English)
• Official website of Dakaroutfit Tom Coronel (Dutch) (English)
• Tom Coronel at Driver Database (English)
• website of Coronel family and karting tracks (Dutch)
• website of Dutch TV programme that Tom co-hosts with his brother (Dutch)