Former World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff has signed for the LADA Sport Lukoil team in a two year partnership alongisde James Thompson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy, it was announced today.
Huff, 32, has been racing for the German Münnich Motorsport team in 2013 at the wheel of a SEAT León, having previously raced for Chevrolet between 2005 and 2012. The deal marks the return to a works squad for the Brit who won the 2012 WTCC title.
The announcement means that Huff will spearhead an expanded three-car assault on the WTCC for the Russian manufacturer for the next two years.
LADA are set to develop a new version of their Granta model for the 2014 WTCC season, in line with the incoming technical regulations, in cooperation with French experts Oreca, who have been assisting the team throughout the 2013 season.
“I’m absolutely delighted with this new association with LADA Sport LUKOIL and it’s a massive thrill to be back with a manufacturer team,” said Huff. “It will be an honour to work with such an ambitious and hard-working group of people who share my vision for the future.”
Huff was also pleased to be lining up alongside fellow Brit Thompson, meaning it will be the first time that he has a British team-mate in the WTCC.
“I’m also really excited about racing as a team-mate to James Thompson, because we’ve raced together for many years and I have a huge amount of respect for him,” added Huff. “In fact, he won the British Touring Car Championship in 2004, which was my maiden season in touring cars.”
“I’m determined to emulate the sort of success I had previously with Chevrolet, taking LADA Sport to the top in the WTCC. The team is still fairly new to the championship and I hope to be able to use my knowledge and experience to make an active contribution towards building a championship-winning outfit.”
LADA Sport Lukoil’s Viktor Shapovalov, Team Principal, added that he was pleased to have a vastly more experienced line-up for the 2014 season.
“We are very happy to have such a talented and experienced racing driver as a part of our team,” added Shapovalov, himself a former WTCC racer. “LADA Sport LUKOIL has made significant progress since the start of the season. Through the current season, we have proved that the LADA Granta car is capable of being in the top ten and fighting for top five positions. The competitive car together with the excellent driving skills of Rob Huff can contribute much to the team’s success.
“The increased driver line-up for 2014-2015 will help us to strengthen our positions in the championship. In view of a forthcoming season with new manufacturers joining WTCC, we set very ambitious goals. I am sure that the pair of drivers, Huff and Thompson, will be one of the strongest tandems in the championship. Our young talented driver from Russia Mikhail Kozlovskiy will get even more experience cooperating with them.”