Despite turning fifty in early April, seasoned Touring Car driver Tom Coronel isn’t planning on retiring from motor racing anytime soon. Announcing his 2022 TCR Europe campaign with Comtoyou Racing, Coronel is relishing the prospect of another season in top-class competition after finishing the 2021 season in fourth place in the Drivers’ championship standings.

The charismatic Dutch driver will once again be at the wheel of an Audi RS 3 LMS, but the team has announced that Coronel and his new teammates Franco Girolami and Viktor Davidovski will each have the brand new version of the car that delivered a victory and three podium finishes for Coronel in the series last year. Tom, however, is no stranger to the new Audi, having campaigned it in last year’s WTCR for Comtoyou Racing.

However, as well as his ‘big’ birthday, another number marks Coronel’s remarkable longevity in the sport. In 2019, he elected to run with the number 30 on his car to mark his 30^th year in motorsport and that’s a tradition he’s continued over the last few seasons. Unsurprisingly, then, the 2022 car will carry the number 33 on its doors, while its bright yellow and red DHL-sponsored colour scheme will make it one of the most easily recognisable in the pack.

Coronel commented: “No matter how long I have been involved in motorsport already, when spring comes I can hardly wait to go racing again. I simply have that in me and it is something I most probably will never lose either. At the end of this month, we can get going again, I am really eager. When something is good, then why change it? I am feeling very well with the car and in the team, my loyal partners want to continue, so I am delighted that I will be on the grid again for the upcoming season.

“I may have turned 50, but the race car doesn’t feel and doesn’t know how old you are. Don’t forget that Gabriele Tarquini became world champion when he was 57, so there is still a future in motorsport for me!”