Tom Coronel revelled in delight after securing his second outright TCR Europe pole position – and only the third top-level touring car pole of his career – in qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Comtoyou Racing’s Coronel was over two tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival, Felice Jelmini, in the crucial Q2 part of the session.
The Dutchman had already secured his first pole in the series last year at the Slovakiaring, but he said that the pole he secured this time around was a lap ‘like never before’.
Having recently turned 50, Coronel will be the favourite for victory when race one gets underway later on Saturday.
“I think I never did a lap like this before,” said a surprised Coronel. “I was only concentrating on keeping the flow in places like Turn 10 – I don’t know what happened there, I was really flying.
“If you see what happened there, it was stupid. I was nearly full-throttle and I didn’t think I was going to make it, but I did. It was a mega lap.
“You know, I’m fifty years old and I’m always fighting for everything and this is just how you do it. This is one of those days when you can feel it, I feel 100% control in the car and I’m just enjoying it.
“I’m so easily relaxed in the car, I’m at the limit everywhere and I feel at one with the chassis. We tested at the Nürburgring maybe one month ago and I could feel it there.
“It was a feeling that I’ve never had before.”