Comeback in FIA WTCC with podium for ROAL Motorsport in Curitiba (Brazil) in the opening round of 2011.

After the eighth place in qualifying, Tom Coronel produced a strong performance in race one and a long battle with rivals brought him to be the first BMW driver when he crossed the finish line in fourth position.

The Dutch driver had also a thrilling race two, he got the lead at the start thanks to a perfect getaway. Coronel led the race for several laps defending himself from Alain Menu's Chevrolet, with the latter having the best of him only in the finale. Coronel finished second anyway and celebrated on the podium the Brazilian weekend.


Roberto Ravaglia (ROAL Motorsport, Team Principal):
"I am more than satisfied with the weekend's result: after finishing the car assembly we did have just the time to shake it down before shipping everything to Brazil therefore our target for Curitiba was to finish in the top five - six positions. Track's result went beyond our expectations instead and confirmed the quality of the development work done by BMW Motorsport on the 320TC".


Coronel is currently fourth in the standings with 30 points, just seven adrift the leader. The FIA WTCC will be back on track next 24 April in Zolder (Belgium).