Photo: WTCC Media

Rob Huff: “We can throw everything at it” for Macau win

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Rob Huff will start from eighth for race one on Sunday at the Macau WTCC weekend, but more importantly that translates to third on the grid for the reversed grid race two, leaving the Briton with a potential opportunity to score a second win for Lada, and extend his personal Macau race win record to seven victories.

Rob Huff took a surprise victory as an independent last season in the unfancied SEAT León WTCC at the Guia circuit, and with third on the grid and with the closest of the pace-setting Citroën C-Elysées that of Yvan Muller in eighth on the grid for race two, there’s an opportunity to give the Lada Granta a final victory on its swansong on Sunday.

“I started P7 last year and won, so anything’s possible,” said Huff to TouringCarTimes. “I have to say I’m quite happy with the two people I’ve got in front of me, as if I’ve got an opportunity it’ll be there,” said Huff. “Obviously they’re both gagging to win a race as much as I am. Hugo (Valente)’s not won a race but been in a position where he could have won a couple, and Tom’s won one race this year. (However) I don’t need this car for next year, so we can throw everything at it, and I’m fairly confident to say I’ll either be heavily in the wall somewhere or I’ll be on the top step of the podium.”

Huff holds the record for the most wins in Macau with six, one ahead of Edoardo Mortara, who’s competing with Audi this weekend in the GT Cup event. Last year Mortara briefly matched Huff’s record when he won the GT race on Sunday morning but then Huff won the WTCC race in the afternoon and stepped back ahead.

“It’s our last year here, and Edoardo Mortara’s up for equalling my record this weekend, and I want to do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t,” added Huff.

The Lada showed improved pace around the 6.2km Macau Grand Prix circuit, with Huff close to the front-running pace. His Lada team-mates were less fortunate, with James Thompson caught out on his run by the sliding Citroën of Ma Qing Hua, and then stopped on his next lap when team-mate Mikhail Kozlovskiy brought out the red flag when he hit the wall at Lisboa.

“We did a 1:25.8, which is within a second and a half of the front boys,” said Huff. “The car is working well up the top, we’ve just not got the speed on the straights, we’re 10km/h down in the speed traps, and that’s where the time is,” he added.

Rob Huff presently sits 12th in the standings on 66 points, and with a strong result on Sunday, the 2012 champion could potentially move up into the top ten past Mehdi Bennani and Hugo Valente.