Morocco preview: new Marrakech track hosts heated title battle

Citroën Racing and Honda Racing will continue their fight for both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ title at the new Moulay El Hassan Circuit in Marrakech, Morocco, in one of the closest starts to the World Touring Car Championship in recent years.

40 points separate the French factory Citroën team from Japanese manufacturer Honda, with Honda’s Tiago Monteiro just 12 points shy of Citroën’s José María López in the drivers’ standings after three rounds, so the WTCC Race of Morocco will be very interesting to watch.

Despite worries from the Citroën drivers due to the twisty nature of the new layout, effectively the only new circuit on the 2016 calendar, the Moulay El Hassan track is set to provide thrilling qualifying battles, as data from Citroën Racing predicts a lap time target of 1:20.500, which will keep the gaps between the drivers very tight.

With an expected top speed of 210km/h and just 53% of the lap on full throttle, the sole WTCC event held in Africa will emphasise the chassis performance rather than the engines’ qualities. On the other hand, the track seems to be kinder on tyres, which will make the 80kg ballast the Citroën C-Elysées will carry less of a problem during the races. A slight chance of rain on Sunday might spice things up even more, as the weather did two weeks’ ago in Hungary.

Local hero Mehdi Bennani will be trying to make full use of his ‘home advantage’: “Marrakech is always a strong event and every time I am happy to see the support behind my participation,” said the independents’ points leader. “It’s always warm and although I try to do my best in every race, you try just that little, little bit more when it’s your home race because you have the power from the spectators that give you just a little bit more. It’s something magic.”

Bennani will have to defend his lead in the independents’ championship from Sébastien Loeb Racing team-mate Tom Chilton, who is 12 points behind the Moroccan after a strong weekend in Budapest, while ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel will try to repeat the stunning results obtained at Paul Ricard and Hungarorning in qualifying in a bid to close the 25 points gap to Bennani.

Championship contender Tiago Monteiro expects strong results from his Honda Civic, targeting another race win in Morocco: “Usually when you come to a race, you already have your base set-up and the driver’s responsibility is just to identify some small improvements,” explained the Portuguese driver. “With a new layout, like we have in Morocco this weekend, the responsibility of the driver becomes much more and it’s a challenge I really enjoy. What we showed in Hungary was that even with 70kg of ballast on the car, we could be extremely competitive, which was proven when we became the only manufacturer this season to qualify three cars inside the top six and then won MAC3 for the second race in a row. So to have only 40kg on the car this time should put all three factory Hondas in contention for victory.”

Team-mate Rob Huff echoed: “Hungary was a tough weekend for the whole team results-wise, but we’ve proved that the pace we can run with a lot of ballast on board is good, so with a reduced weight of 40kg, that gives everyone encouragement for Morocco.” The Brit is also curious to see the new layout: “This year will be a completely new experience, because although it’s the same location we’ve had for the past seven seasons, the circuit is completely new. The layout looks interesting, it’s an enthusiastic design for a racetrack and I think it might flatter cars like my Civic Type-R that have good traction and braking stability. I definitely want a good weekend and that would consist of a win and another win.”

Hungarian star Norbert Michelisz also has high hopes after a tough weekend at his home race: “I’m looking forward to getting my season back on track in Morocco and with just over half the compensation weight we had in Hungary on the car, I’m confident we can have another strong showing as we try together to put Honda back on top in the manufacturers’ championship.”

Lada Sport will also try to make use of their reduced comnpensation weight, with a 20kg ‘discount’ which might play in favour of the yellow Vesta WTCCs. Nicky Catsburg has pulled out some outstanding performances, especially in qualifying, and clinched two podiums in the last three races: “I have visited Africa before, but this will be my first time in Morocco,” remarked the Dutchman. “I’m really looking forward to this one, as Marrakech is supposed to be an awesome city and the new track will level the playing field for all of us. We will have to wait and see what the grip levels are like on the new asphalt and adjust our set-ups accordingly, but I hope I can continue my podium streak and score more valuable points.”

Team-mate Gabriele Tarquini will wait until he gets to the renewed circuit before judging it: “The new Moroccan circuit is much shorter than the old one and there’s new asphalt, but it is very difficult to say anything about it before seeing it in person,” commented the Italian. Fellow Lada driver Hugo Valente scored his maiden WTCC podium in Africa and is also keen on discovering the new track.

Polestar Cyan Racing will have a good chance of getting a strong result, as the circuit is completely new to everyone. The S60 TC1s will not suffer from the disadvantage of not having data from the previous years compared to the other teams, and this might play in their favour, just like the fact they do not carry any ballast. The Swedish cars may pull a few surprises on the field, as Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Björk both scored a fourth place apiece in the wet in Hungary. Björk , who became a father just hours after the race at Hungaroring, is determined to make the most out of the weekend: “I’m looking forward to Marrakech,” said the Swede. “What makes it even more exciting is that the track is new to everyone.”

Action will start on Friday with a 30 minute testing session, scheduled for 12:30 local time. The weekend will continue with the first practice session at 9:00 on Saturday, followed by a second session at 11:30, both lasting 30 minutes. Qualifying will start at 15:00 local time, with MAC3 following at 16:30.

The opening race will start at 12:15 with 21 laps, while the main race will last an extra lap and will begin at 17:10.

WTCC Morocco Entry List

No – Driver – Team – Car
2 – Gabriele Tarquini – Lada Sport – Lada Vesta WTCC
3 – Tom Chilton – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
5 – Norbert Michelisz – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
7 – Hugo Valente – Lada Sport – Lada Vesta WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
10 – Nicky Catsburg – Lada Sport – Lada Vesta WTCC
11 – Gregoire Demoustier – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
12 – Rob Huff – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
15 – James Thompson – Münnich Motosport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
18 – Tiago Monteiro – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
27 – John Filippi – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
37 – José María López – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
55 – Ferenc Ficza – Zengo Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
61 – Fredrik Ekblom – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
62 – Thed Björk – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
68 – Yvan Muller – Citroën Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC

WTCC Morocco Timetable

Friday 6th May
12:30 – Testing

Saturday 7th May
09:00 – Free Practice 1
11:30 – Free Practice 2
15:00 – Qualifying
16:30 – MAC3

Sunday 8th May
12:15 – Opening Race (21 Laps)
17:10 – Main Race (22 Laps)

* All times local time WEST, BST+0hr, CET+1hr