Photo: WTCC Media

Mixed races for Mehdi Bennani including war of words with Rob Huff

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Mehdi Bennani claimed fifth overall and the Yokohama Indepedents’ Trophy class win in race two in Argentina, but a drive-through penalty following an incident with Rob Huff’s Lada in race one relegated the Moroccan to 13th in the final order and outside of the points after a promising start in the Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.

“In qualifying I was trying to understand the car but I was just over the limit,” said Bennani, referring to his spin in Q2 which saw him forced to start both of today’s races from 12th on the grid.

“Our car was very good, we had a good set-up (for race one), I was originally aiming to get into the top ten and go for eighth or ninth, and at the end I was thinking we could improve on that. With (Rob) Huff, he pushed me from behind, and that forced me to push out Stefano (D’Aste), I’m sorry for Stefano but I had no choice as I was being pushed from behind,” he explained.

“On the second overtaking I was on the inside, and when someone’s on the inside you’d know. If someone was inside me I would not close (the door) like the normal trajectory,” explained Bennani to the Eurosport crew after the incident.

In the second race, Bennani was running in fourth position before he was spun out by Yvan Muller’s Citroën, losing spots to Muller, and the two Hondas of Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz, but was able to reclaim one spot from Michelisz and profit from an error by Muller later in the race to secure fifth and the indepedents’ win.

“(In race two) With Yvan (Muller) I don’t know what happened,” said Bennani. “I was trying to overtake Gabriele and then suddenly I saw my car going the wrong way. I lost too much (downforce) on the rear, and had to finish the race like this, but it’s not a bad weekend.”

Lada Sport’s Rob Huff was however unhappy with Bennani following the incident which saw him out of the first race and unable to take part in the second race due to the damage sustained to the rear of his Lada Vesta.

“If I was him I’d be really impressed with myself in the Citroën,” sarcastically quipped Huff to the TV crew. “(He had) the fastest car on the grid, and made a mess of it in qualifying on his own and made a mess of that race didn’t he, not only for myself but for Stefano. It’s a shame, but that’s what happens when you put dull drivers in fast cars.”