Mehdi Bennani hails the “lap of my life” after maiden WTCR pole

Comtoyou Racing’s Mehdi Bennani says he put in “the lap of my life” to secure his first-ever World Touring Car Cup pole position at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The Audi RS 3 LMS TCR driver was one of the last drivers to cross the line in qualifying and snatch the top spot from his team-mate Gilles Magnus, from who he was slipstreaming on the run to the line.

It resulted in the Moroccan’s first career pole, who has contested 60 races in the WTCR and a further 191 in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) since 2009.

“For sure the lap was crazy,” said Bennani in the post-qualifying press conference.

“I think I had the lap of my life and a very good team-mate in front of me to give me a nice slipstream! But the car looks very strong at this kind of track”

Of particular benefit to Bennani around the Nordschleife track was the significant aerodynamic advantage for the Audi RS 3 LMS TCR, which is renowned for its straightline speed.

“The Audi, with Comtoyou Racing, has done a lot of testing here and it has paid off. We as driver already know how to set up the car, how to use the grip levels well.

“And for me, I only had to drive, but it was not easy after having stopped in the WTCR for three years but everything was working well

“The car helps a lot here and I was much more surprised at how much speed we can have in the high-speed corners. You’re on the limit all the time.

As for the race, Bennani is predicting a fierce challenge from those behind, in particular the Cyan Racing Lynk & Cos of Santiago Urrutia and Yann Ehrlacher who qualified third and fourth respectively, while team-mate Magnus is also a threat.

“I’m very happy to be on pole and to have my team-mate next to me,” Bennani said.

“I know that the team has worked on making sure both cars are equal. The aim is to have a good start and to have a nice fight with competition. It’s going to be really tricky but I will enjoy this evening.”