Rob Huff praised Santiago Urrutia for his victory in the second FIA World Touring Car Cup race in Hungary, having applied race-long pressure to the Uruguayan.
Huff started the reverse-grid race from second on the grid, with Cyan Racing’s Urrutia in front on the pole position.
The Zengő Motorsport driver kept Urrutia honest throughout the 14-lap race, and despite a mid-race safety car bunching the field up again, he couldn’t find a way past his rival.
Huff kept the pressure up for the entire race, eventually finishing just under four tenths of a second behind the winning Lynk & Co after being closer than ever to a pass on the final lap.
“There was one mistake he made in the final corner which allowed me to close a car’s gap, but even if I was close enough it was never going to be a close enough gap for me to get through,” explained Huff.
“He deserves his dinner tonight because that was probably one of the highest-pressure races I have been involved in. It was mega. Neither of us made a mistake, we both wanted it as bad as each other and he just got it off the start. It was just good fun, a really good high-intensity race.”
Huff dedicated his first podium finish of the season to Zengő Motorsport, the team having only made a late entry for 2022 and is continuing to struggle for sponsorship.
“I’m so happy for the team. Last year we came here, we got pole position and I made a hash of it in the race which meant we didn’t get to start on pole position [in race two] which was a real shame.
“Of course, this year I wanted to put that right and with a sixth and a second, two WTCR Trophy wins, three bottles of champagne, three trophies I think we can say we did it.
“And it leaves room for improvement in the future, so we can come back next year and try to make it one step better.”
Huff believes the team can achieve further success in future events.
“Every time we are coming out we are getting stronger and stronger. That’s quite normal with the preparation we had for this season.
“But the team is working better than it’s ever worked. The bond in the team, the inspiration, the positivity to keep pushing, keep trying, keep succeeding is getting bigger and bigger and I’m thoroughly proud of the Zengő Motorsport team.
“It’s amazing part of their story because it is an amazing story and we keep pushing for success and keep driving each other forward.”