Rob Huff happy after “unexpected” podium in Morocco

Rob Huff was delighted after scoring a podium result in Race 1 in Morocco on his debut with Sébastien Loeb Racing, admitting he was surprised but also happy to find the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR was able to keep pace with the much-fancied Hyundai i30 N TCRs.

Huff qualified fifth on the grid but was promoted to fourth following an engine change penalty for BRC Racing Team’s Norbert Michelisz.

At the start, the Briton got the jump on his former team-mate Jean-Karl Vernay, now in the WRT-run Audi RS 3 LMS, and was able to run with two Hyundais up front for the remainder of the race.

“I’m really pleased with that,” Huff said to TouringCarTimes. “We gained where we’ve been working hard, which is on our starts, so I’m very, very pleased. When there’s four Hyundais, which we knew were going to very strong, to be P3 behind two of them, that’s a great achievement for me.”

Reflecting on last year’s WTCC season opener in Morocco, where Huff’s weekend was overshadowed by a seatbelt issue with saw him miss the majority of the running.

“Last year was not the dream start to the championship, but this year it’s almost the dream start,” he said. “With 25 cars on the grid and maybe up to 30 at some point, just to be able to be on the podium is a great way to kick off the season, and shows that everything we’ve done in the off season has proven to be the right way to go.”