Morocco’s Mehdi Bennani was pleased to have made it through to Q3 in qualifying for the World Touring Car Championship races in Marrakech, highlighting the fact that he did so with the Citroëns carrying 50 kg of extra weight.
Bennani is performing in front of his home crowd with perhaps more expectation than ever, as he races a Sébastien Loeb Racing C-Elysée with the absence of a factory team in front for the first time.
The Moroccan racer managed to crack into Q3 on Saturday, but ultimately lacked the pace to challenge for pole compared to the pace-setting Hondas.
Bennani was not disappointed with the result though, ending up just a tenth slower than fellow Citroën racer Rob Huff with 50 kg of compensation weight on board, whilst the other marques on the grid carry none.
“Every time I am in Morocco I am doing my best to make everybody happy,” said Bennani. “People in Morocco are following me in all the races and pushing me to do well and I really appreciate the support from all of Morocco.
“It’s big but positive pressure and I try to do my best. When you do over your best you swap from the other side of the limit and you can touch the car [against the walls] or struggle with the set-up of the car and that’s why I feel happy with the Q3 performance.
“We have 50 kilos more than everybody, and this is not the best layout for Citroën, so in the end this is a good result to be in Q3 and to perform [well] compared to the other drivers.”
Bennani’s best result on home soil is the fourth place he scored in 2015 in only his second meeting with the Citroën.