Rob Huff holds off James Dodd at Silverstone

Rob Huff made the most of his guest appearance in the HSCC Super Touring Championship, taking victory in the second race at the Silverstone Classic.

It was not plain sailing for the 2012 World Touring Car Champion, who was made to work for his win by series leader James Dodd in the Honda Accord.

Huff made a brilliant start in the Mondeo, storming around the outside of the field and finding himself in third place through Abbey, before moving up to second past Stewart Whyte at Village corner. He had to wait until halfway around lap two before getting past Dodd, however, completing the move through Maggots after getting a run on the Honda out of Copse.

The two remained close for the entire race, much in the same way Dodd and Whyte were in Saturday’s encounter, though the second Honda couldn’t keep up this time. Some setup changes for Whyte between the two races proved to be the wrong choice, with the Scot struggling with oversteer and running wide on a number of occasions. Despite struggling with the handling of the car, Whyte held on to third place to make his second visit to the podium of the weekend.

“Very happy with that,” Huff told TouringCarTimes. “Everyone was asleep on the start so I just jumped around the outside of everyone, went side-by-side with Cleland and then saw a red car spinning in my mirrors. Dodd is definitely quick, though, and the slipstreaming was great. We don’t get that in the WTCC anymore because the cars are too fast, but Dodd was closing on me on every straight.”

“He caught me napping,” admitted Dodd. “It was a fantastic race, I really wanted to beat him. That Ford is amazing in the fast corners, but my Honda’s got the legs on the straights and on the brakes. But it was an absolutely fantastic race.”

For Thruxton winners John Cleland and Patrick Watts it was a recovery drive mission, with Watts starting from the rear of the field after retiring in race one, and Cleland dropping down the order after a spin at the first corner. Cleland put his head down and worked his way back up the field, eventually moving in to fourth position and scoring three vital championship points in the process. Watts also had a strong drive, battling once again with Simon Garrad’s Renault and Neil Smith’s Alfa Romeo with Graeme Dodd’s Nissan joining the fray. Watts ended the race in fifth, with Dodd rounding out the points scoring positions.

Smith had to settle for seventh, less than a second shy of Dodd, while Garrad dropped down to ninth, behind David Jarman’s ex-Matt Neal Nissan Primera, after a spin on the final lap when the battling group caught a backmarker at the wrong time going in to the Maggots and Becketts complex. Paul Smith rounded out the all-ST1 category top ten, having also started at the back in his Audi A4.

Craig Davies took the honours in the GA category, finishing three seconds clear of Jan Bot’s BMW in the Ford Sierra RS500, while John Young completed the class podium in the Ford Capri.

“He’s definitely one to watch,” added Huff, when asked on his opinion of the Super Touring Car Championship leader, who John Cleland has suggested deserves a shot in the BTCC. “Not meaning to blow my own trumpet, but anyone that can keep me that honest for the duration of the race deserves a professional drive.”