Driver Database News

Rob Huff scored his seventh podium result of the season when he finished 3rd in Round 19 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Imola. He was then denied the chance of another top finish in the second race, when he was pushed out of contention at the end of the opening lap, having already moved from 6th to 4th place.

It was the first time the Chevrolet team had run its new Cruze WTCC race car at the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Bologna in Italy, and Rob used the free practice sessions to set the car up. His was no easy feat, as the three mile track contains a mixture of flat-out high-speed sections and slower technical turns, making the perfect technically set-up extremely difficult to find.

Rob qualified as top non-SEAT driver, just half a second behind pole-sitter Gabriele Tarquini. He got through Q1 inside the top 10, despite his best lap being ruined when Andrea Larini (SEAT) went off at the Acque Minerali and caused a red flag. The tactic of slip-streaming with his Chevrolet team-mates worked well, and whilst no other cars were able to match the pace of the dominant diesel-engined Leons, Rob’s 4th best time in Q2 put him in an excellent position for the start of Race 1 the following day.

From the inside of Row 2, Rob made a great rolling start as Round 19 got underway in dry and sunny conditions. He was up to 3rd by the Tamburello chicane, but under braking Rob was hit hard from behind by Jordi Gené. The rear of Rob’s Chevrolet was pushed high into the air and the front rammed into the back of Tarquini’s Leon, but the 29-year old Cambridgeshire driver maintained control brilliantly and continued in 3rd place. Behind, Gené spun across the track and sent a wave of contact down the field, which resulted in the end of the race for several drivers and the deployment of the Safety Car for the debris to be cleared.

Once the race re-started, Rob drove well to keep in touch with the two Leons of Tarquini and Yvan Muller ahead, but unable to get close enough to them to mount a challenge, finished an excellent 3rd.

With the top eight starting the second race in reverse order, Rob lined up 6th on the grid for Round 20 – taking the inside position on Row 3 this time. A fantastic standing start saw him move up two places to arrive at Tamburello in 4th position. Exiting the Rivazza corner on the opening lap, Rob was hit by Tarquini and pushed into the gravel on the outside of the last corner. He regained the track, only for more contact and another trip through a gravel trap a few corners later. Now in last place, Rob pushed hard and worked his way up to 17th by the chequered flag.

Imola marks the end of the European races in this year’s WTCC. Rob’s car now goes directly to Okayama in Japan for the penultimate race meeting (1st November), and it won’t return to the RML team workshop in Wellingborough until after the final rounds of the series in Macau (22nd November).

“It was a very good team effort at Imola and we scored some good points, so we can be happy,” said Rob. “Having never driven the Chevrolet Cruze at the circuit before, we certainly achieved the best we could in terms of performance and set-up and made the most of the race day conditions.”

“Race 1 was good. I had a good start and good pace and it was nice to finish on the podium. In Race 2, I was hit at the end of the first lap and went into the gravel, losing many positions, and then I was hit again by a couple of privateers shortly after. That was a shame, because it dropped us down towards the back of the field.

“We had the pace to score two podium results at Imola and if we’d done that, we’d be two places higher up in the drivers’ standings right now.”

Rob Huff came from 22nd on the grid to finish 9th in the second of two FIA World Touring Car Championship races at Oschersleben in Germany, after his opening race ended in a second corner collision.

Having qualified on pole at Oschersleben last year, Rob was hopeful of a similar starting position with his new Chevrolet Cruze. The weather made qualifying very difficult, with rain in Q1 making the track increasingly wet, followed by equally challenging drying conditions in Q2. Rob got into Q2 as one of the top 10 fastest driver from Q1, and was on provisional pole for a time. His strategy of using a combination of dry and wet weather tyres was working well, but a misfire saw him pull off to the side of the track before the end of Q2. Rob eventually qualified 6th, but had to take a 10 grid slot penalty when his engine had to be replaced before the first race.

From 16th on the grid, Rob made a good start as the 27 cars headed towards the notoriously tight first and second corners. Unfortunately Jörg Müller spun his BMW right in front of Rob in Turn 2, forcing the 29-year old driver from Cambridgeshire to hit the brakes and stop. A split second later Jordi Gené slammed into the back on Rob’s Chevrolet, causing considerable damage to the rear of the Cruze and pushing it into the back of the BMW. Rob managed to drive the car back to the fits, where the RML team was able to make repairs in time for the second race.

Starting from near the back of the grid, Rob made another good start in the second race and worked his way through the field to finish 9th, just one place away from scoring a WTCC point.

“Unfortunately were didn’t quite manage to score any points in Oschersleben, but it was good fun in Race 2,” said Rob.

“In Race 1, I tried to be as gentle as possible in Turn 1, knowing that there will inevitably be an accident. It went well but when approaching Turn 2, I found the car of Jörg Müller had spun and was facing the wrong way. I had nowhere to go – I couldn’t pass on the right or on the left of him, so I had to stop. As soon as I did I was hit hard at the back by Jordi Gené and pushed into Müller’s car.

“Any hopes of scoring points that weekend ended there, although the boys did a fantastic job repairing the front and the back of my Cruze to let me start Race 2.

“The second race went really well, and with nothing to lose I had some good battles and made some neat overtaking manoeuvres. I didn’t expect to make up thirteen places and come within one position of scoring a WTCC point, and was pleased with the pace and balance of the car.”

Rounds 19 and 20 of the WTCC take place at Imola in Italy on 19-20 September.

Rob Huff produced the drive of the day to defend his 2nd position in Race 1 at Brands Hatch and ensure the Chevrolet Cruze scored its maiden one-two finish on a traditional race circuit, before strengthening his personal challenge for the FIA World Touring Car Championship title by finishing in the points again with 6th place in Race 2.

Having never driven the new Cruze around the 2.3 mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit before, Rob and the Wellingborough-based RML team, which runs the works Chevrolet WTCC outfit, worked hard to find the best technical set-up in the two free practice sessions. The worked paid off handsomely, as the team blocked out the front row, with Rob qualifying 2nd, just 0.097 seconds behind team-mate Alain Menu, in the 27 car field.

“It’s great to have two cars in the first row,” said Rob. “The Cruze was really fantastic today, especially in the high-speed corners. I am very happy with the balance of the car and the last few set-up modifications we made during Q2 paid off.”

Dark clouds and a strong wind made race day conditions unpredictable, as a large crowd – including 300 of Rob’s personal guests – arrived at the famous Kent circuit. Despite a brief shower of rain before the first race, track conditions remained dry all day.

After a textbook start, Rob took the lead with a move around the outside of Menu at the first corner, Paddock Hill Bend. The 29-year old from Cambridgeshire could see in his mirrors that Menu had the quicker car, so Rob let him take the lead on lap five and set-about defending 2nd position from Andy Priaulx (BMW). That battle turned into the race of the day, and after a fantastic fight Rob kept Priaulx behind him to score his sixth podium finish of the season and a magnificent one-two race result for Chevrolet.  What’s more, the eight points scored moved Rob up to 4th in the drivers’ standings.

With the top eight finishers starting Race 2 in reverse order, Rob lined up on the inside of the fourth row of the grid. After a clean start, Rob overtook both Tiago Monteiro (SEAT) and Alex Zanardi (BMW) during the 16 lap encounter to take the chequered flag in 6th place. The three points scored saw Rob leave Brands Hatch 5th and top British driver in the WTCC standings, just one point behind Rickard Rydell (SEAT).

“I’m very happy with my performance at Brands Hatch,” said Rob. “Of course I would have liked to have won Race 1 here at home and in front of my fans, but Alain was faster, so I let him go on lap five and I just focused on protecting a great team result for Chevrolet.

“Andy Priaulx was behind me and had the pace over me. I made his life as hard as possible to keep him behind and was quick enough at certain points of the track to do so. He was quicker coming into the corners but luckily the Chevrolet is faster round the back of the track. I had to work hard for this result.

“I had another good fight with Tiago Monteiro and Alex Zanardi in Race 2 and I managed to pass both of them, finishing sixth and scoring some more good points.”

Rounds 17 and 18 of the WTCC take place at Oschersleben in Germany on 5-6 September.

Rob is extremely sad to learn of the death of Henry Surtees, the 18-year old son of the 1964 Formula 1 World Champion John Surtees, who was tragically killed in a Formula 2 support race at Brands Hatch on Sunday. Rob raced against Henry in a promotional kart race only last Thursday, and would like to pass on his sincere condolences to his family and friends.