Mehdi Bennani receives two-second penalty for Catsburg incident

Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani has received a two-second penalty for an incident at the start of the main race in Morocco, for contact with Polestar’s Nicky Catsburg at the start of the race.

The Citroën driver was able to take fourth from the Dutchman on the first lap after hitting the rear of Catsburg’s S60 TC1. Bennani went on to finish in fourth, but the two-second penalty corrects the position, elevating Catsburg to fourth.

“Mehdi just pushed me out and I lost the position,” said Catsburg to TouringCarTimes. “I think he should get a penalty for that. They need to stick by the rules.”

The change in result means Catsburg is now elevated to third place in the drivers’ standings, two ahead of Bennani heading to the next race at Monza.