Rob Huff not focussing on Macau Guia Race record

Rob Huff was second fastest in his Münnich Motorsport Citroën C-Elysée in today’s free practice at Macau. The Brit was three tenths slower than Honda’s Norbert Michelisz, but revealed he took it relatively easy in the first session of the weekend.

“I just took my time, we changed the setup a little bit compared to our standard to make the car safer to start with,” said Huff to TouringCarTimes. “We had a few small issues with the gear cut and it took up to the end of the session to fix it, it cost us a lot of time on track because I had to use the clutch. It’s normal for it to happen after two wet events and a lot of time in the container, of course these small problems happen on a race car.”

After making a pit stop for a few changes on the car, the Brit went back out on track and clocked some quick lap times once he found clear air ahead of him. A relatively small touch with the barriers on the outside of Lisboa put his session to a slightly early end.

“It was a matter of finding some clear track, which I was able to do. In the end the lap time was getting better and better. On the last lap I just touched the wall out of Lisboa and I wanted to make sure we were safe, so I stopped and by then the session was over. As usual I’m happy in Macau and in a WTCC car, hopefully we will take our first win of the season here.”

Despite not pushing to the maximum, Huff appreciates the differences with the Lada Granta he last drove in the WTCC in the former Portuguese colony, especially as the C-Elysée carries no compensation weight this weekend.

“The Lada was a little bit of a strange car, it was the Granta, the first generation of TC1, but I seem to get good results whichever car I driver in Macau. Of course I expect a good result, because we are also light this weekend and, although I don’t think it will make a huge difference, it’s still going to help, I’d rather have less [weight] than more.”

Going into the second free practice session is a step into the unknown according to the Brit, as the track will offer much more grip come tomorrow, which makes it difficult to make changes to the car.

“The car feels good and solid. The problem is there is almost no point changing the car after the first session, because the track is completely green. We’ll just take it easy and I’m very happy with what I’ve had, it puts us in a good position for tomorrow.”

Despite being proud for having taken some eight wins in Macau, more than anyone in touring cars, Huff’s focus is not on improving his record, although his goal is to win at the Circuito da Guia.

“I think it’s something nice to be remembered for, obviously. Even if anyone wins both races this year, they still won’t catch me. Anyway, that is not my focus, I’m concentrated on making the car as fast as possible to take pole position, bag some good points on Saturday and go for bigger points on Sunday. I’m not really in the championship [battle] anymore, so it’s all about keeping the car in one piece in the opening race and trying for the win on Sunday.”