Bennani: WTCC qualifying key in Marrakech

Home hero Mehdi Bennani says a strong qualifying performance will be key to a successful FIA World Touring Car Championship weekend in Morocco later this month.

Bennani starts Eurodatacar WTCC Race of Morocco as a firm favourite for honours in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy, while an overall podium finish is more than a realistic possibility for the Sébastien Loeb Racing ace.

“Qualifying is one of the key moments of the weekend,” said Bennani, part of the quintet of drivers racing a Citroën C-Elysée on the streets of Marrakech. “I have done a big mistake in the key moment of the weekend [in Argentina] but this can happen when you are driving to the limit and not over it.”

Bennani is equal second in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy standings following WTCC Race of Argentina last month, three points behind leader Norbert Michelisz. His qualifying blunder in South America, when he slid into a gravel trap, left him 12th on the grid for the first of two races at Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo.

Eurodatacar WTCC Race of Morocco takes place from 17-19 April.