Michaël Benyahia (born July 21, 2000, in Miami) is a Moroccan racing driver.
| Michael Benyahia | |
|---|---|
 Venturi Monaco 2017 | |
| Nationality |  Moroccan Americandue to double nationality |
| Born | July 21, 2000 Miami, United States |
| FIA Motorsport Games career | |
| Debut season | 2022 |
| Current team | Optimum Motorsport |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Car number | 10 |
| Previous series | |
| 2017 2016–15 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC French F4 Championship |
| Championship titles | |
| 2017 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC |
| Awards | |
| 2017 2017 | SISL Trophée Espoir Mars d'Or 2M Challenge |
Career
edit
Early career
editBenyahia was born in Miami of a Moroccan father and a Belgian mother.[1] His father, Karim Benyahia is a businessman in hands-free technologies.[2][3] His mother, Pascale Van Cleemput was Honorary consul of Belgium in Miami between 2002[4] and 2005.[5]
Benyahia began karting in 2007 at the age of seven, claiming numerous titles in his career.[6][7]
In November 2013, he took part in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals held in New Orleans where he finished sixth of the Mini Max category.[8]
Lower formulae
editIn 2015, Benyahia graduated to single-seaters in the French F4 Championship, where he earned nine points and finished 17th. The following year he repeated this series, finishing 3rd and claiming a victory and six podiums.
Formula Renault
editMichael signed with the R-ace GP Team and became 2017 Formula Renault FR 2.0 NEC Champion.[9] As part of his prize for becoming the 2017 champion at Hockenheim, Michael Benyahia paid a visit to Renault Sport's F1 facility at Enstone.
Formula 3
editBetween June and October 2019, he joined the development program of the British team Carlin Motorsport to prepare for a serie in F3.[10]
Formula E
editIn September 2017, Benyahia joined Venturi Formula E Team as Development Driver,[11] one month later he took part in the pre-season test session in Valencia,[12] then in January 2018 at the Rookie Test of the Marrakesh ePrix where he was the youngest among the twenty participants,[13] in which he finished 19th in the first session and 18th in the second.[14][15]
British GT
editBenyahia is one of four confirmed McLaren DDP drivers that will drive two McLaren 570S GT4s for Tolman Motorsport for the 2020 season, after he, Katie Milner, Harry Hayek and Alain Valente were the top 4 drivers in an 18-driver selection at Snetterton.[16]
FIA Motorsport Games
editMichael Benyahia will represent Morocco in the FIA Motorsport Games that will be hosted from October 26 to 30 in Marseille. Benyahia will take part in the “GT Sprint” event on the Paul-Ricard Circuit, securing Morocco’s first participation. The FIA Motorsport Games is a multidisciplinary event that includes GT, karting, and rally sometimes. The event is often referred to as the Olympic Games of motorsports.
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F. Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | French F4 Championship | Auto Sport Academy | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 17th |
| 2016 | French F4 Championship | FFSA Academy | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 218 | 3rd |
| 2017 | V de V Challenge Monoplace | R-ace GP | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 257 | 12th |
| Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 163 | 1st | ||
| Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 2017-18 | Formula E | Venturi Formula E Team | Test driver | ||||||
| 2018 | Euroformula Open Championship | RP Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 19th |
| Spanish Formula 3 Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16th | ||
| 2019 | GT4 European Series | Team GT | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 16th |
| ADAC GT4 Germany | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 105 | 6th | ||
| 2021 | British GT Championship - GT4 | Jenson Team Rocket RJN | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 67 | 8th |
| 2022 | International GT Open | Optimum Motorsport | |||||||
| FIA Motorsport Games GT Sprint | Team Morocco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 13th | |
† As Benyahia was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete British GT Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jenson Team Rocket RJN | McLaren 570S GT4 | GT4 | BRH 1 Ret |
SIL 1 21 |
DON 1 Ret |
SPA 1 Ret |
SNE 1 19 |
SNE 2 12 |
OUL 1 16 |
OUL 2 13 |
DON 1 14 |
8th | 67 |
References
edit- ^ "Michael Benyahia, un jeune champion marocain prodige de la formule 1". maglor.fr (in French). May 13, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ Barret, Philippe (April 2017). "Michael Benyahia, le champion qui trace sa route" (PDF). Le Courrier de l'Atlas (in French) (113): 64–65.
- ^ Slatalla, Michelle (February 13, 2003). "ONLINE SHOPPER; Treats to Mollify a Crabby Cellphone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ "Consuls honoraires Créations – Nominations Par arrêté royal du 3 juin 2002". Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs (in French). Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ "Consuls honoraires Créations. – Nominations Par arrêté royal du 30 septembre 2005". Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs (in French). Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ "Michael Benyahia | Northern European Cup". Northern European Cup. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
- ^ "Double podium at Le Castellet for Michael Benyahia". Kartcom. April 7, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
- ^ "Rotax Challenge Grand Finals Mini Max finale results". Kartcom. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^ Soulsby, Chris. "Formula E: 17 year-old Michael Benyahia to test for Venturi in Marrakesh". Motorsport Week. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Michael Benyahia joins Carlin for development programme". Carlin. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Le marocain Michaël Benyahia nommé pilote de développement Venturi". Maghreb Arabe Presse (in French). September 29, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ "New faces to make Formula E debut in Valencia". fiaformulae.com. September 1, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ "Formula E: Venturi and Andretti confirms their drivers to the rookie test". Electric Motor News. December 17, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ "ABB FIA Formula E Championship – Marrakesh Rookie Test – Test session 1" (PDF). fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com. January 14, 2018.
- ^ "ABB FIA Formula E Championship – Marrakesh Rookie Test – Test session 2" (PDF). fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com. January 14, 2018.
- ^ "McLaren DDP members join Tolman for 2020 GT4 programme". britishgt.com. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
External links
edit- Michaël Benyahia career summary at DriverDB.com
- Official website