Next season, the Sébastien Loeb Racing will enter two private Citroën C-Elysée to compete as part of the World Touring Car Championship. In order to meet this new challenge alongside team Citroën Racing, the Alsace-based squad will be joined by Mehdi Bennani. First African driver to have won in the FIA WTCC, it is with much ambition that he will try to keep on progressing.
Mehdi Bennani : « I’m joining Sébastien Loeb’s team to go as high as possible ! »
31-year-old driver Mehdi Bennani is a well-known FIA WTCC competitor. Born in Fes (Morocco), Bennani has been making progress consistently since making his debut in that competition in 2009. He scored his first points in Marrakech during his rookie season, before entering the final Top 10 in 2012. After last year’s three podiums, he clinched his first success in 2014 in Shanghai : an important moment which marked the first win ever of a Moroccan and African driver in a World Championship !
Before racing at the highest level of touring car competitions, Bennani went through the Filière FFSA in 2002. He next took part in the Asian Formula BMW Championship, then in the World Series by Renault - F1’s breeding ground - and also raced in Auto GP (Euroseries 3000).
« My goal is to keep on progressing with the Citroën C-Elysée which is the World Champion car. I feel that everything is there for me to meet that goal. That project fits perfectly into my ambition for progress and improvements » says Mehdi Bennani. « Sébastien Loeb is a great champion, I have discovered his team through its GT and Prototypes programmes. That squad is just like Sébastien himself. I am joining in to go as high as possible ! After a very positive season marked by a first personal win, the first one ever for Morocco, we’ve planned on a good preparation. I feel like a Moroccan Ambassador and I am ambitious : my long-term aim is to fight for the title. That’s my ultimate dream and my commitment with the Sébastien Loeb Racing must allow me to get closer to that objective. The enthusiasm in Morocco is becoming more and more important and I am convinced that with the Citroën C-Elysée lined up by the Sébastien Loeb Racing, many people will be supporting me in 2015.»
Sébastien Loeb : « There is a desire to do well »
Competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup, in GT and Prototypes since its creation, the Sébastien Loeb Racing will take on a new challenge with the World Touring Car Championship. The team will want to shine with two Citroën C-Elysée racing under its own name. The team will rely on Mehdi Bennani’s knowledge and top speed.
« I’ve been on the tracks with Mehdi before and I’ve competed against him in 2014, I know the great competitor he is » explains Sébastien Loeb, co-founder of the Sébastien Loeb Racing and driver with Citroën Racing. « Mehdi has a very good experience in WTCC and his feedback will be useful to the entire team. The squad has been demonstrating its capacities for three years, some of our engineers and mechanics have already moved up in WTCC, so there is a desire to be good. Mehdi shares some of our team’s strong values such as ambition and combativeness. That state of mind is essential in such a project. Besides, Mehdi is also a true Moroccan Ambassador and it is important for the Sébastien Loeb Racing to develop its image internationally. That’s an important aspect for Citroën too. »
The name of the second driver to take part in the Sébastien Loeb Racing’s 2015 WTCC programme will be announced soon.