DHL dominates livery - Tom Coronel in 2015 FIA WTCC

With a total of 277 races at European and World Championship level under his belt (55 FIA ETCC races from 2001 till 2004 and 222 FIA WTCC races from 2005 till 2014), Tom Coronel is the most experienced driver in this category. "And I want to add many more races," Coronel says, smiling. The basis for that has been laid, because in 2015, Coronel will continue to compete at the highest level in worldwide touring car racing. In the FIA World Touring Car Championship, he will again be racing a Chevrolet Cruze run by Italian team ROAL Motorsport.

He has been working with this team for five years, to mutual satisfaction. "This also gives a lot of confidence for the upcoming season," says Coronel. One major change compared to the previous season will be the livery of the Cruze that will be mainly yellow this year. That is the result of the close partnership with DHL for the 2015 season. Other loyal partners in Tom Coronel’s racing activities are McGregor, TW Steel – big in oversized watches - , Valvoline, ERU, Amando Face & Body Care, Equinix, AkzoNobel Lesonal, Intrax and Bouwgroep Dijkstra
Draisma.

For Tom Coronel, the final months of 2014 were very busy. "Preparations for the new year started right after the end of the WTCC season. On the other hand, there was also a trip to the Dakar rally scheduled for the first weeks of January. Meanwhile, everybody knows how that went and I continued to work on my WTCC project as soon as I got back to The Netherlands. Being able to race for another season is great and I think I am one of the longest-standing drivers in the series. This will be the fifth year together with ROAL Motorsport, the team owned by Roberto Ravaglia and Aldo Preo. That is giving a lot of confidence and a good feeling. Last year, we took on the adventure with the Cruze together and we had highs and lows. In the process, we have learned a lot, which helps us to get 2015 off to a good start. From a technical perspective, the car is almost identical to last year. The most significant difference is that the blue colour is making way for yellow. That, of course, is the result of the partnership with DHL. Parts that were yellow last year, will now turn blue, because McGregor will again be one of my sponsors in 2015 as well. The yellow colour also is visible on my helmet. Just like in the Dakar rally, my helmet will be sporting a cheese design with logos of the ERU cheese brand, so it will be ’Eat my cheese’ instead of ’Eat my dust’. The yellow colour will be very important for me in 2015."

For Tom Coronel, a week with plenty of action is coming up. First of all, he will leave for Italy to put the new livery on the car together with ROAL Motorsport. "Then I am off to Barcelona for the official WTCC media launch. Then it is back to Italy for a first test at the Vallelunga circuit. After that, the car has to be delivered to Germany to be shipped to Argentina. A tight schedule, but also a nice challenge," Tom Coronel says. The twelve-round 2015 FIA WTCC season gets underway in Argentina on the weekend of March 6-8. "New for this year is a round on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring and we will also have races in Thailand and Qatar. Macau is no longer on the schedule, but I think that we can look forward to a great season with the calendar for this year," Tom Coronel says.

Delighted

ROAL Motorsport team principal Roberto Ravaglia is delighted with the continuation of the partnership with Tom Coronel. "Our driver line-up for the WTCC remains unchanged. I am pleased to be able to continue the co-operation with Tom Coronel. We know him very well, he is part of our family. Last year Coronel was one the best drivers of the championship although he was forced to miss two races. We want to race at the highest level, but our target will be to compete for victories and titles in the Yokohama Trophy. With Coronel and Chilton we have a very reliable couple of drivers."

DHL & International Motorsports

Tom’s new sponsor DHL is also pleased with the cooperation for 2015. "We are delighted to be partnering more closely with Tom Coronel and to playing a supporting role in his accomplishments on the WTCC race circuit in 2015," says Ken Allen, CEO of DHL Express. "We hope that the DHL brand on his car will further enhance the sensation of speed for race fans and spur him on to more historic victories on the track."

Besides their involvement with Tom Coronel and ROAL Motorsport, DHL is Official Logistics Partner of WTCC/Eurosport, a partnership that began in 2010. As Official Logistics Partner, DHL handles a wide range of logistic duties for WTCC, including the overseas transportation of racing cars, spare parts, and even the garage and WTCC paddock equipment. DHL transports an average of 180-200 tons of equipment between each circuit race, loading approximately thirty-35x 40’ high cube containers or, in the case of long distance races over short intervals, two chartered Boeing 747 jumbo jets.

DHL has been active in motorsports for over 30 years. Next to the WTCC DHL partners with motorsports championships and teams including Formula 1, Formula E and the Andretti Autosport team participating in the IZOD IndyCar series.