Rob Huff: ‘Championship position doesn’t reflect our potential’

Toyota’s Rob Huff experienced a ‘frustrating’ weekend in the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, as he suffered from the close quarters racing of the BTCC.

The former World Touring Car star made it out of the first part of qualifying on Saturday, but then qualified in 11^th as the third quickest of the four Toyotas, having lapped a quarter of a second from the quickest Q2 time.

Admitting to having tried something new with tyre choice in qualifying, Huff started the opening race from the sixth row of the grid.

Progress was difficult to come by, and Huff took the chequered flag in 11^th, having fallen behind Árón Taylor-Smith on the penultimate lap which gave him the freedom to run the more favourable soft tyre in race two.

Having progressed up to sixth, Huff’s race came to a premature end when he was shown the black-and-orange flag for a damaged rear bumper and forced to pit for a repair, ending his race.

From 18^th on the grid for the final race, Huff gained nine places to take the finish in ninth for some more points which leaves him 14^th overall in the drivers’ standings.

Despite his misfortune, Huff remained optimistic following his second weekend back in the BTCC.

“In terms of the overall outcome, it was obviously a frustrating weekend, but at the same time there were lots of positives to take away,” said Huff.

“The Toyota felt really good in qualifying until we tried something a bit unorthodox with the tyres in Q2 that didn’t quite work out, but these are all learning experiences.

“We struggled slightly in race one and then on the warm-up lap ahead of race two, the front roll bar broke, which took away a lot of front-end grip and meant the car was moving around more than usual.

“We battled on anyway and were going really well until my rear bumper began flailing in the wind following earlier contact – and as the officials deemed it to be dangerous, I had to ‘box’ to get it repaired. That was a great shame, because I think we would have been on for a really good result.

“It also meant we had to start race three from the back of the grid, but the team did a mega job to get the bumper fixed and the roll bar replaced and the Corolla felt magnificent – the best it has done for me so far. We had really good pace and I only wish the race could have gone on another 15 laps!

“Ultimately, our current championship position doesn’t accurately reflect our performance and potential.

“We made really good progress both on and off-track at Brands Hatch, and I’m just so excited for the future with this team. I think together, we can really create something very special.”