Michaël Benyahia
Michaël Benyahia | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 21, 2000 Miami, United States |
| Nationality | Moroccan |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
Michaël Benyahia (born July 21, 2000, in Miami) is a professional racing driver of Moroccan nationality.
Early stages
Born in Miami, Benyahia is the son of Karim Benyahia, a Moroccan entrepreneur specializing in hands-free technology, and Pascale Van Cleemput, his Belgian mother who held the position of Honorary Consul of Belgium in Miami between 2002 and 2005.
He commenced karting at the age of seven in 2007 and achieved numerous championship titles. In November 2013, he took part in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals held in New Orleans, where he placed sixth in the Mini Max division.
Entry into single-seaters
In 2015, Benyahia made his debut in single-seater racing by competing in the 2015 French F4 Championship, scoring nine points and finishing 17th overall. The following year, he advanced significantly, securing third place with one race win and six podium finishes.
Formula Renault achievements
In 2017, Benyahia signed with the R-ace GP team and captured the Formula Renault FR 2.0 NEC Championship title. As part of his reward, he was granted a visit to Renault Sport's Formula One headquarters located in Enstone.
Progression to Formula 3
Between June and October 2019, he joined Carlin Motorsport’s development program in the UK to prepare for participation in F3 competition.
Involvement in Formula E
September 2017 marked Benyahia’s appointment as Development Driver for the Venturi Formula E Team. He took part in the pre-season testing sessions in Valencia and was the youngest competitor at the January 2018 Marrakesh ePrix Rookie Test, where he finished 19th and 18th across two sessions.
British GT Championship
Benyahia was confirmed as one of four McLaren DDP drivers representing Tolman Motorsport’s two McLaren 570S GT4 cars during the 2020 season. Alongside Katie Milner, Harry Hayek, and Alain Valente, he emerged as one of the top four drivers selected from an 18-strong field at Snetterton.
Participation in FIA Motorsport Games
Representing Morocco at the FIA Motorsport Games held from October 26 to 30 in Marseille, Benyahia competed in the “GT Sprint” category at Paul Ricard Circuit. This marked Morocco’s inaugural entry into this multidisciplinary motorsport event often regarded as the Olympic Games of motor racing.
Career summary
| 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 | 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 | 2019 GT4 European Series | Team GT | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 16th |
| 2019 ADAC GT4 Germany season | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 105 | 6th | ||
| 2021 | British GT Championship - GT4 | Jenson Button#Jenson Team Rocket RJN | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 67 | 8th |
| 2022 | align=left 2022 International GT Open
|- !rowspan="2"|2022 !align=left 2022 FIA Motorsport Games GT Sprint !align=left Optimum Motorsport#Team Morocco !1 !0 !0 !0 !0 !N/A !13th | ||||||||
† Guest driver; not eligible for championship points.
Full French F4 Championship Results
(legend) (Events shown in bold represent pole positions) (Events in italics denote fastest laps)
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Final Position | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | LÉD 1 17 |
LÉD 2 13 |
LÉD 3 17 |
LMS 1 14 |
LMS 2 17 |
LMS 3 10 |
PAU 1 13 |
PAU 2 8 |
PAU 3 10 |
HUN 1 16 |
HUN 2 13 |
HUN 3 16 |
MAG 1 10 |
MAG 2 12 |
MAG 3 9 |
17th | 12 | ||||||||
| 2016 | LEC 1 3 |
LEC 2 3 |
LEC 3 11 |
LEC 4 15 |
PAU < br >1 < br > 2 | PAU < br >2 < br > Ret | PAU < br >3 < br > Ret | PAU < br >4 < br > 12 | LÉD < br >1 < br > 5 | LÉD < br >2 < br > 2 | LÉD < br >3 < br > 5 | LÉD < br >4 < br > 4 | MAG < br >1 < br > 4 | MAG < br >2 < br > 11 | MAG < br >3 < br > 4 | MAG < br >4 < br > 4 | LMS < br >1 < br > 7 | style = "background: #FFDF9F;" [[Circuit de la Sarthe#Bugatti CircuitLMS 2]] '3' | | ! 3rd ! 218 |
Full V de V Challenge Monoplace standings
(key) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics represent fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Final Position | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | R-ace GP | CAT 1 |
CAT 2 |
CAT 3 |
POR 1 1 |
POR 2 1 |
POR 3 7 |
LEC 1 7 |
LEC 2 5 |
LEC 3 3 |
DIJ 1 |
DIJ 2 |
DIJ 3 |
JAR 1 |
JAR 2 |
JAR 3 |
MAG 1 |
MAG 2 |
MAG 3 |
EST 1 |
EST 2 |
EST 3 |
12th | 257 |
Full Formula Renault NEC standings
(key) (Entries in bold indicate pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final Classification | Points Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | R-ace GP | MNZ 1 Ret |
MNZ 2 3 |
ASS 1 5 |
ASS 2 6 |
NÜR 1 7 |
NÜR 2 5 |
SPA 1 27 |
SPA 2 24 |
SPA 3 23 |
HOC 1 9 |
HOC 2 9 |
Champion (1st) | 163 |
Full Formula Renault Eurocup Results
(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races shown in italics denote fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Final Position | Points Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | R-ace GP | MNZ 1 |
MNZ 2 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
PAU 1 |
PAU 2 |
MON 1 |
MON 2 |
HUN 1 |
HUN 2 |
HUN 3 |
NÜR 1 |
NÜR 2 |
RBR 1 |
RBR 2 |
LEC 1 |
LEC 2 14 |
SPA 1 15 |
SPA 2 27 |
SPA 3 24 |
CAT 1 23 |
CAT 2 |
CAT 3 |
NC† | 0 |
† Due to guest driver status, Benyahia was not eligible to accumulate points
Full Euroformula Open Championship Results
(key) (Races in bold highlight pole position) (Races in italics highlight fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final Position | Points Accumulated |
|---|
|- 2018 Euroformula Open Championship#Results and standings
Full British GT Championship Results
(key) (Races in bold signify pole position within class) (Races in italics signify fastest lap within class)
| Year | Team/Entrant | Vehicle Chassis | Category Class | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Race 7 | Race 8 | Race 9 | Championship Standing (DC) | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jenson Button#Jenson Team Rocket RJN | McLaren 570S#McLaren 570S GT4 | GT4 Class | Brands Hatch#BRH Race1 (Retired) |
Silverstone Circuit#SIL Race1 (21st) |
Donington Park#DON Race1 (Retired) |
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps#SPA Race1 (Retired) |
Snetterton Circuit#SNE Race1 (19th) |
Snetterton Circuit#SNE Race2 (12th) |
Oulton Park#OUL Race1 (16th) |
Oulton Park#OUL Race2 (13th) |
Donington Park#DON Race1 (14th) |
Eighth Place | 67 Points |