Dutch flyer Tom Coronel, whose cavalier driving style has won him a legion of fans, is in danger of missing next month's Macau Formula Three Grand Prix because of the economic downturn in Asia.
The two-time visitor to the Portuguese enclave was given a verbal assurance from the Japan-based TOMS team that he would be given a drive this year even though he was no longer campaigning in F3.
Coronel won the Japanese F3 championship with TOMS last year, came to Macau a hot favourite to win the event and probably would have but for a crash in the first leg.
This year he has moved up a class and is competing in the Japanese Formula Nippon Series for Nakajima Racing.
'I received a fax from TOMS saying a sponsorship deal they had been negotiating with a Chinese beer manufacturer had fallen through because of the hard economic times in Asia,' a disappointed Coronel revealed yesterday from Holland.
'I made no effort to arrange any sponsorship because I just presumed TOMS had made all the arrangements,' he added.
Coronel said he faced a battle to find around US$20,000 to make the trip to Macau.