Coronel switches to BMW with ROAL
Long-time SEAT driver Tom Coronel will return to BMW for the 2011 World Touring Car Championship, driving for Roberto Ravaglia's ROAL team as it rejoins the series following a one-year absence
Former independents' champion Coronel has driven SEATs every year since 2005, and was a career-best eighth in the overall standings last season.
Both SEAT and BMW will only be represented by private teams in 2011, but Coronel is confident Ravaglia's squad will allow him to fight for victories. He last raced BMWs when he drove for the Carly Motors team in the WTCC's European predecessor in the early 2000s.
"I have the feeling that I won the Italian lottery and hit the jackpot!" Coronel said. "It is so great to work with the ROAL Motorsport team and especially with Roberto Ravaglia. I even raced with him in the early nineties. This is a race-winning team."
Ravaglia's squad focused on Italian domestic racing last year as BMW scaled back its factory WTCC operation. The Italian is upbeat about the potential of BMW's new 1.6-litre turbo package and what Coronel can achieve this season.
"The technical package developed by BMW Motorsport has certainly a potential and I believe it will allow customer teams to aim for high-level results," said Ravaglia. "Furthermore, a fast and well experienced driver such as Tom Coronel will contribute to enhancing the team's performance."
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