Sebastien Loeb Racing enters WTCR with Huff and Bennani in VW Golfs

Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani will drive two Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs for Sebastien Loeb Racing in the 2018 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup season.

The 2012 WTCC champion and the best Moroccan driver definitely will form one of the strongest pairs in the inaugural season of new touring car competition.

For Bennani, it would be his fourth season with the French team after he spent three years in the World Touring Car Championship driving Citroen C-Elysee. On the another side, Huff is a newcomer in the French team but he already has a valuable race experience in a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, driving that car in six rounds of the 2017 TCR International Series for Leopard Racing/WRT, scoring one victory and three more podiums.

Rob Huff triumphed last year with VW Golf at Zhejiang Circuit

“It’s great to join the WTCR, which is run by the same people at Eurosport Events who’ve worked for 13 years in the WTCCand also, to continue the great relationship I started with Volkswagen last year in TCR. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to join Sébastien Loeb’s team. They’ve won the independents’ title for the last two years, and now with no manufacturer entries in WTCR, that’ll put us right at the front.

My aim this year is absolutely to win the title. I’m very familiar with the circuits as the calendar’s almost a carbon copy of the last few years from the WTCC, so it’s down to quickly getting to work with the team and adapting the TCR car to the WTCC tracks, then delivering the best results. Then, ending the year at Macau, my favourite circuit, is absolutely perfect. I took my ninth win there last year, and hopefully this year we’ll be in a position to win the title and also put my Macau victory tally into double figures come November,” Rob Huff said.

“The WTCR cars are a little different to the racing cars I have driven previously. However, I am sure that we can challenge for victories right from the word go with the Golf GTI TCR. I can hardly wait for the season to get underway and to take my place on the grid. I am particularly looking forward to my home race in Marrakech, which forms the opening round of the season,” Mehdi Bennani added.

Photos: Eurosport, TCR, Clement Luck/DPPI,