The LADA Sport Lukoil team head to the Hungarian round of the World Touring Car Championship this weekend in Budapest, where Rob Huff admits “it would be very satisfying if we could punch above our weight”.
LADA drivers Mikhail Kozlovskiy and Rob Huff have already equalled the Russian marque’s best-ever result in the WTCC in the first two events of 2014, with Kozlovskiy finishing fifth in the second race in Morocco and Huff fifth after a determined drive in race one in France.
With Huff having scored a victory in 2013 against the odds in his then Münnich Motorsport SEAT, the 2012 champion is hoping he can once again surpass expectations at the popular event in Hungary.
“Last year I went into the weekend in Budapest with very low expectations and still managed to come away with one of the best race wins of my career in the WTCC, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can achieved with the new LADA Granta TC1,” said Huff. “Of course, a win would be a tall order, but it would be very satisfying if we could punch above our weight and mix it with the guys at the front, just like we did in France.”
Fellow Brit James Thompson has had a less spectacular start to his campaign in 2014, scoring a brace of tenth-placed finishes thus far. Nevertheless the former British Touring Car champion is looking forward to this weekend.
“The Race of Hungary at the Hungaroring is by far the best-supported event of the year and there’s always an incredible atmosphere,” added Thompson. “It’s my favourite event of the season because there is always a lot of support for LADA Sport LUKOIL and the circuit is cracking – I thoroughly enjoy racing on it.”
Thompson admits that the team’s Granta TC1, which is presently the slowest of the new-generation WTCC cars, still has some problems which need to be rectified going forwards.
“The team has shown little glimpses of form and it’s fantastic that Mikhail and Rob have equalled LADA’s best-ever finishes in the WTCC with a fifth-place each so early on in the season. There are still some fundamental problems with the car but I’m optimistic that we can pull off some more solid results if things go our way.”
Kozlovskiy heads to only the second circuit with which he has previous WTCC experience and hopes that the new regulations for 2014 will suit the car better around the 4.38 km circuit.
“I’m already familiar with the Hungaroring, as I drove the LADA Granta there last year,” said Kozlovskiy. “The circuit’s layout is very interesting and it has some long corners, which require a good balance. In the previous season we faced some difficulties in the long corners because our Granta is quite a small car and we felt the lack of balance and stability prevented us from maximising our potential in Hungary and also Slovakia.
“However, due to the changes in the WTCC’s technical rules, the Granta is much wider and has a new and more efficient aero package that will surely help to improve the performance,” added the Russian. “I look forward to seeing how the new Granta TC1 will perform at the Hungaroring.”