Michael Benyahia has been confirmed as a member of the McLaren Driver Development Program for 2020.
The young Moroccan driver began his relationship with the famous British racing brand this year after competing in two rounds of the GT4 European Series before switching to the ADAC GT4 Germany category.
As part of the Team GT outfit, racing a McLaren 570S GT4, Benyahia would claim a victory at the famous Nurburgringand two other podiums en route to a sixth place in the standings in the German championship alongside teammate Charlie Fagg.
Before that, the 19-year-old had already made his mark in junior single-seater categories winning the 2017 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship and finish second the year prior in the French Formula 4 series.
Michael also enjoyed a stint as the development driver at Formula E team Venturi before opting for the different path of GT racing.
And hisperformances have earned Benyahia the right to become the first driver in history from the Middle East and North Africa region to join the McLaren Driver Development program for next year.
Commenting on this latest opportunity, Michael said: “I am very proud to be joining a brand like McLaren and becoming an official member of the Driver Development Program for next year.
“It’s a dream come true for me and I’m particularly proud also to be the first Arab driver to join this program and represent our region internationally, flying the Moroccan flag at the highest levels of racing across Europe.
“I would like to thank McLaren Automotive for their trust in me. I know it’s a long journey and there is a lot of hard work to do, but I will give it my best to take the maximum from this unique opportunity.
“The first steps into GT racing were very positive for me this year and I look forward to my first outing on track as official McLaren development driver in 2020.”
Drive Team Leader for McLaren Automotive, Danny Buxton, would explain more about what the program is about.
“The Driver Development Program is an extremely important part of the motorsport landscape at McLaren Automotive, and it is becoming stronger with each season.
“This year’s group of shortlisted drivers was the largest we have ever assessed and it was a truly global mix, which is great to see. They were also the strongest selection we’ve ever seen, and the decision for the final four was extremely difficult.
“The aim of the Driver Development Program is to work with each of the four successful candidates throughout the year and help build them into a more complete driver, both on and off the track,” he added.
“The hard work really starts now, and we will work with them – and push them – to build and improve their whole skill-set. Throughout the year, the team will work on a number of areas including personal fitness, nutrition, engineering expertise, racecraftand PR to help them develop into a complete package as a racing driver.”
In 2020, Benyahia will be teaming up with his fellow Driver Development Program members to compete in the British GT series with the Tolman Motorsport team, which was worked with McLaren since 2018 and finished second in the Teams’ standings for both seasons together so far.