No excuses for Loeb WTCC team

Sébastien Loeb Racing engineer Jean-Philippe Nicolao won’t be making any excuses following a mixed weekend for the French squad in Marrakech.

While Mehdi Bennani completed FIA WTCC AFRIQUIA Race of Morocco with a WTCC Trophy win in the Main Race, set-up issues hampered his pace in qualifying to the extent he was unable to progress beyond Q1.

Elsewhere, Tom Chilton was excluded from the Main Race when it was discovered his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC had been fitted with unmarked tyres, while Grégoire Demoustier retired from the weekend-closing contest for unspecified reasons.

“This round wasn’t the easiest one,” Nicolao conceded. “The new track was tough and we – both drivers and team – had to adapt and work with that. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find the best set-ups during the qualifying. Let’s face it and not seek excuses. We performed better during the races and managed to climb on two new podiums each time with Mehdi and Tom, as well as enter in two overall top 10. Grégoire has shown some interesting things, promising for the future.

“We could have done better and we always aim higher, that’s why it was a mixed outcome for us. Yet we’re in the lead of the WTCC Trophy, Mehdi remains within the championship’s top 5, Tom ranks eighth. A third into the season, it’s good.”

Next up for Sébastien Loeb Racing is the championship’s Big One, WTCC Race of Germany at the Nürburgring Nordschleife from 26-28 May.