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Moroccan Driver Bennani Edges Out Champion Azcona in Thrilling TCR Europe Victory
Monday 10 May 2021, by
Moroccan racing driver Mehdi Bennani won his first victory in the Touring Car Cup (TCR Europe) at Slovakia ring, beating the reigning series champion Mikel Azcona. A hard-fought victory that he obtained after exposing himself to "many dangers".
It was not an easy race for the Sébastien Loeb Racing team member. He resisted until the last lap of race 2 under the pressure of Mikel Azcona, reports Touring car Times. The reigning champion did not leave him for a second. Through maneuvers after maneuvers, Mehdi Bennani exposed himself to dangers before narrowly winning the victory, by half a second. A first victory for him and for the new 2021 Hyundai Elantra.
"It’s really nice to be back on the top step of the podium, especially on the first outing of the car, as it’s brand new," said the Moroccan driver. "It wasn’t easy, because we still had to manage the car’s settings, so we improved a lot between FP1, FP1 and qualifying," he acknowledged, while thanking the team and the four drivers who worked to improve the car’s performance.
Mehdi Bennani says he took risks, especially when Mikel Azcona tried to catch up and overtake him. "I was full of risks, 100% in certain parts and sometimes I was very lucky but that’s racing. [...] In the end, we had a very good pace. I could see that Azcona was faster in certain parts and I was slightly better in other parts," he added. "I wanted this result for Hyundai, because they chose me to help develop the car. We did it and I’m so happy for them," rejoiced the first Arab and African driver to win a round of the FIA championship.