Why safe made sense for Bennani in the WTCC

Mehdi Bennani had one eye on next month’s FIA WTCC Race of Argentina as he raced to a pair of top-eight finishes in Vila Real recently.

As well as his strong overall scores – Bennani was fourth in the Opening Race – the Moroccan maintained his firm grip on the WTCC Trophy title with his seventh class victory of 2016 in the Main Race.

Following the two races in Portugal, the Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën privateer said: “We have to drive on the limit but it’s a street circuit and you never know what’s happening. You can crash, you can destroy your weekend and also maybe the Argentina weekend because the car will go via freight directly to Argentina so we needed to be safe but very quick. I think on this mix I have been not so bad because I score points in both races and I stabilise my gap in the WTCC Trophy.”

Bennani is currently fourth in the overall standings.