Good progress on the streets of Pau for Michael Benyahia

The Moroccan-American Michael Benyahia had an appointment with the difficult street circuit of Pau this weekend for the third round of the French F4 Championship. The youngest driver in the field was able to avoid the many pitfalls of this very special race, reminiscent of Monaco, to gain valuable experience as well as new championship points. He also shows real progression in car racing, racing against opponents with more experience.

“It’s really not easy to find the limit without exceeding it on a street circuit like Pau,” admitted Michael. “I don’t have the experience or training needed to aim for a podium, so I tried to find the right lines without taking unnecessary risks, before increasing the pace in the last race. It’s a great satisfaction to have been able to overtake within the narrow streets without making mistakes. I am now more comfortable, especially when braking, and my confidence has improved. I am very happy with my weekend!”

During the qualifying session, tyre optimisation was complicated by the waved yellow flags on the entire circuit. Then bunched up drivers stopped Michael from finding a clear lap to get the most out of his car. But despite a 15th place in qualifying, the young Moroccan managed great gains during races. In the first race, he mainly aimed to stay out of trouble and overcome all of the difficulties. Mission accomplished with a 13th place and all the laps completed at the finish.

Michael began to increase the gas in Race 2, usually more lively because of the reverse grid for the top 10. His times improved and his consistency allowed him to take advantage of the incidents in front of him to go back to 8th place, his best result to date in F4. But in the third and final race he showed his best progress with the successful implementation of strategic advice from his coach Stéphane Daoudi. He went on the attack from the lights and completed a superb overtake on the Mexican Sierra on the second lap. Then Michael was driving with good times and smoothly finished 10th.

Following the first point scored at Le Mans, Michael adds five more points to his score in the provisional standings after the race at Pau, a telltale sign of an improvement that will not stop there!

The next round of the French F4 Championship will take place from June 12th to 14th 2015 near the Hungarian capital of Budapest, on the famous Hungaroring circuit which has hosted Formula 1 since 1986.