Stage set for the WTCC round at LIC

Mehdi Bennani will do all he can to give local fans reason for cheer when the curtain comes down on the 2017 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at Losail International Circuit (LIC) this week.
As the first Arabic driver to win an FIA world championship motor race in 2014, Bennani lists WTCC Race of Qatar as his second home event following the season-opening WTCC Race of Morocco.
With two races left and 60 points up for grabs, Bennani can still win the overall title although he’ll first have to overcome a deficit of 39.5 points to title leader Thed Björk.
However, it’s much closer in the battle to win the WTCC Trophy for independent racers: Bennani is a mere half point behind Sébastien Loeb Racing team-mate Tom Chilton in his bid to defend the crown he secured in 2016.
“I want to do my best for the Arabic supporters and bring a trophy back to Morocco,” said Bennani, who heads to Qatar on a high after winning the Opening Race at WTCC JVCKENWOOD Race of Macau.
“We will push at the maximum and I hope to leave the people with the best message, a podium finish.”
Last year’s visit to Qatar was memorable for Bennani in more ways than one after he scored his first DHL Pole Position Award and Main Race victory.
“It was a very strong qualifying and a very strong race,” he said.
“Everything was going in a good way because we were quicker than the factory Citroën drivers and this was very good. It was my first pole position and to have pole position in my second home race was very nice.
“The lap was magic and my engineer helped me a lot, telling me I had nothing to lose. People said I got pole position because some people did a mistake but I deserved it because I didn’t do a mistake.
“The Main Race was very tough with all the very quick drivers behind me. I tried to do 12 or 13 laps like qualifying and the only thing in my mind was I would win or I would put my car in the wall. I absolutely wanted to win this race.”
Meanwhile, Norbert Michelisz believes the pressure is on Thed Björk to win the FIA World Touring Car Championship tomorrow.
Factory Volvo Polestar racer Björk is 6.5 points ahead of his works Honda-driving rival with two night races at the Losail International Circuit left to run.
While Björk said last week that he was “relaxed” ahead of the trip to the Middle East, Michelisz reckons playing catch-up puts him in a better position than the Swede. “I don’t want to be too aggressive on Thed but from my point of view it’s him having the pressure,” said Hungarian Michelisz.
“He’s leading, I always had to catch up in terms of points and in the end there is almost nothing to lose from my side,” he said.
I’ve had difficult times with a big points gap but these experiences give me strength for the last race.”
Despite the fact he stands in his way of winning the WTCC crown, Michelisz is full of admiration of Björk.
“He is a really strong driver with a really strong overall package. I really rate him as one of the best touring car drivers in the world.”