Three Moroccan drivers will join the FIA WTCC event at Marrakech, in addition to their fellow countryman and championship regular Mehdi Bennani.
Thanks to the support of the Fédèration Royale Marocaine de Sport Automobile (FRMSA), Ismaïl Sbaï, Youssaf El Marnissi and Larbi Tadlaoui will compete under the banner of "Morocco Team" at the wheel of three identical Chevrolet Lacetti cars run by the Swiss outfit Maurer Motorsport.
The three drivers are very popular with local fans. Last year Sbaï (29-year old from Tanger) and El Marnissi (34 from Al Hoseima) teamed up to give Morocco the Legends Cars World Championship. Together with Tadlaoui (33 from Casablanca) they also claimed the National Racing Championship for Clubs.
From the left: El Marnissi, Sbaï and Tadlaoui will form the Morocco Team
MNTO PARTNER OF WTCC RACE OF MOROCCO
For the second consecutive year the Moroccan National Tourist Office (MNTO) will be the Event Presenting Partner of the WTCC Race of Morocco.
As title sponsor, the Moroccan tourism organisation will benefit from premium visibility on TV, on-site and on the internet. In addition to being incorporated in the event’s logo, the MNTO brand will also appear on banners around the circuit, the press conference and podium backdrops, the grid girls‘ outfits and the license plates of all WTCC cars.
"We are proud to renew our support to the WTCC Race of Morocco. The quality of this world-scale event’s organisation and its major media exposure reveal the capacity of Morocco to take up huge challenges, requiring an impressive commitment in terms of human resources and logistics. The event brings an unprecedented economic and touristic opportunity, especially concerning jobs creation and the promotion of Morocco as an attractive destination. Once again, the city of Marrakech demonstrates its capability to offer a wide range of tourism facilities and high-quality welcoming to the visitors, to host big international events and to position itself as a key touristic destination," said Hamid Addou, Managing Director of the Moroccan National Tourist Office.
"This cooperation will enable the Moroccan National Tourist Office to benefit from the WTCC’s powerful multimedia platform, on-air, online and through event sponsorship and will contribute to positioning Morocco as a highly sought-after tourist destination. We are even more pleased to have MNTO return to the WTCC in 2010 as they are a long standing partner of the Eurosport Group," stated Jacques Raynaud, Vice-Chairman of Eurosport Group and Eurosport Events.