Michael Benyahia on the attack at Magny-Cours

On the former F1 circuit of Nevers Magny-Cours, the young Moroccan hopeful Michael Benyahia has shown good progress in his ability to fight with rivals and to manage his passes, which were some of his objectives for this meeting. He managed take three 4th positions in the four races of the weekend and now finds himself well placed to compete for 3rd place in the French F4 Championship at the end of the season.

The fourth of the six events on the programme took place in sweltering heat on the 4.4 km of the famous Magny-Cours track. Michael Benyahia’s performance was not comparable with that of last year and his progress over the last twelve months has proved genuinely impressive for such a young driver. After a quite satisfactory qualifying session – 5th and 4th times – he approached the competition with a double challenge, according to the strategy established in collaboration with his coach, Stéphane Daoudi. He needed to gain places to ensure maximum championship points while avoiding taking too many risks and dropping back, as his joker has already been used during the incidents which he suffered early in the year.

Race 1 started with a slight annoyance, as Michael’s car had difficulties starting when leaving the pits. The technical team of the FFSA Academy intervened quickly and everything returned to order just in time to settle on the starting grid. He reacted perfectly st the lights and immediately put pressure on the two drivers ahead of him. He let the gap grow at halfway to cool both his engine and his tyres before coming back very hard on his opponents in the final laps to finish in 4th place.

With P5 on the grid for the third race, Michael was slowed in his tracks by a difficult driver to overtake. He analysed his rival’s weaknesses before deciding where he would launch his attack. At the second attempt the manoeuvre succeeded and he seized 4th position when braking on the inside line at the entrance of the 180 ° turn. He was then quickly closing on 3rd and 2nd, but eventually finished 4th.

The 4th and final race of the weekend was one of Michael’s most spectacular. Starting from the second row, he immediately launched an assault on the top three. Here, a rival took the opportunity to overtake. Michael did not immediately respond, preferring to gain ground on the leaders. At halfway, he used his momentum inside the fast right Estoril on the limits of the track to achieve the overtake under braking at Adelaide. After a period under the Safety Car, he set off again in the wheeltracks of 3rd, but the chequered flag came out to finish the race before he could attempt another attack.

As expected, the differences are narrowing in the leading group once past the mid-season. Michael remains totally in the fight, only 17 points from 3rd before the last two meetings where he will have a good chance of aiming for the podium of the season.

GT Tour Magny-Cours, July 8th to 10th, 2016, the fourth of six rounds of the French F4 Championship

Qualifying Practice: 5th and 4th best time and second best time
Race 1: 2nd and 4th Junior
Race 2: 11th
Race 3: 2nd and 4th Junior
Race 4: 4th and 2nd Junior

Provisional Championship classification of 2016 French F4 after Magny-Cours (4/6): 6th with 134 points – 4th Junior.

Calendar of the 2016 French F4 Championship
1st – 3rd April: Le Castellet (83) – Supporting Meeting: WTCC + F3 FIA European Championships
13th – 15th May: Pau (64) – Supporting Meeting: GP Pau + F3 FIA European Championship
3rd – 5th June: Lédenon (30) – Supporting Meeting: GT Tour
8th to 10th July: Magny-Cours (58) – Supporting Meeting: GT Tour
9th to 11th September: Le Mans (72) – Supporting Meeting: GT Tour
5th to 6th November: Barcelona (ESP) – Supporting Meeting: International GT Open + 3.5 V8 Formula