Photo: WTCC Media

Rob Huff hoping to bounce back after tough first weekend of 2017

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Münnich Motorsport’s Rob Huff had a weekend to forget at the Marrakech street circuit, but the Citroën driver says he’s happy to have picked up points at the worst track on the calendar for the C-Elysée.

The British driver’s weekend started with high drama after the car failed scrutineering on Friday and wasn’t allowed to take part in any session until new FIA approved seat belts were fitted to the car, which didn’t arrive until 20 minutes before Free Practice 2.

With the loss of practice time, Huff qualified fourth on the grid for the main race, but an incident in the first race with Honda’s Ryo Michigami meant the 2012 champion was forced to start from the back of the grid for Race 2, collecting just two more points on top of his two from qualifying.

“Maybe I should have been a bit more careful trying to overtake Michigami, but the gap was there, I went and put half the car there and he just completely slammed the door,” said Huff to TouringCarTimes. “I was squashed between the wall and him and that broke the steering rack.”

“The boys did an amazing job to get me back out for Race 2, and we scored points, a and that’s the important thing. When I lost the championship in 2011 I lost it by three points, and we scored four points this weekend, and they might become very critical.”

Huff went on to dice with ROAL Chevrolet driver Tom Coronel in the second race for eighth position after starting 13th, with the two most experienced drivers in the championship proving to be the main event in the 23-lap race, but Coronel would hold off the Brit to claim the position.

“Tommy was weaving a lot, whether that was to block me or cool his engine, I don’t know, but the rules say you can only change your line once, and he moved a lot,” said Huff. “But at the same time, I hit him three times, and you’re not allowed to hit each other. Tommy and I have been doing this for years together, we’re fine, we got out the car, had a cuddle, and we’ll be out for dinner tonight.”