Rob Huff has hailed his recovery drive in the main World Touring Car Championship race in Vila Real as ‘one of the best races in my life’ after he came from the back of the field, due to a stall, to finish in fifth.
Huff had qualified his Münnich Motorsport Citroën on the front row of the grid on Saturday with the second fastest time, giving him a prime chance to win the Main Race on the streets of Vila Real.
However any chance of that happening unravelled in the first seconds of the race, when Huff stalled on the grid and dropped to the very back of the field by the first corner.
The Brit then fought back with a determined drive through the field, making up 11 places to eventually finish in fifth, having made the best use of the new ‘joker lap’ concept and some brave overtaking moves.
“It was all a bit of a blur to be fair,” said Huff. “I was just praying that no one crashed into me off the line. Luckily everyone was very aware and avoided me.
“I could feel there was a problem as soon as I engaged the launch strategy on the car and of course the result was the stalling. So yes, it was a disaster; going into Turn 1 I was effectively stone last.
“I managed to overtake four people on the first lap – I was just elbows out, horns were on and through we went.”
Not only did Huff go on to also post the fastest lap of the race, he also won the Independents’ Trophy class to pass compatriot Tom Chilton at the top of the WTCC Trophy table.
“The car was just absolutely amazing and so fast; every lap the car was getting better and better. I could obviously see the cars in front but I had no idea [of their position] because we have no pit-boards here and I didn’t want to be talked to on the radio. I told the team to go away, leave me alone.
“It was tough and whoever said you can’t overtake on street circuits has not been watching WTCC.”
Whilst Huff was in a positive mood despite having clearly had the pace to challenge for a win, he was also left to rue a missed opportunity to get back in contention for the overall championship, where he is now 37 points adrift.
“Ultimately the main championship is the goal here and not just the Trophy. I’m positive, because the race was awesome, it was probably one of the best races in my life.
“We’ve got a nice gap now, a couple of weeks until Argentina, to regroup our thoughts and push forward from there. The car is not easy but we really feel as a team… and you know we’re working really well together now.
“We really feel that we’ve got hold of the car and I think that really showed in the Main Race we’re performing well. So, to start with we’re very upset, and in the end pretty happy.”