Huff takes comfortable race one win at Curitiba

Rob Huff comfortably drove to victory at round one of the WTCC at Curitiba ahead of team-mates Yvan Muller and Cacá Bueno to secure an all Chevrolet podium.

The 31-year-old Briton started from pole position and never looked back, keeping a stready gap to 2008 & 2010 champion team-mate Yvan Muller.

Brazilian driver Cacá Bueno had the opportunity to impress after his curtailed appearance at Brands Hatch last season, taking the final position on the podium. It was Bueno’s second race in a run of three today, driving in the Brazilian Stock Car championship just prior where he finished in 11th place in his Red Bull Racing Peugeot.

The main battle in the race was between the top two BMWs of Kristian Poulsen and Tom Coronel, with Coronel quickly passing his former SEAT team-mates Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Michel Nykjear up into fifth.

Coronel then was able to pass the top independents’ runner Poulsen as the Danish driver went wide on lap 3. The Engstler Motorsport driver held on to the back of Coronel, and pushed his way back ahead on lap 11 for which he received a warning from the stewards. Coronel managed to get back ahead of Poulsen on the final lap to end up as the top BMW.

Alain Menu had moved up from tenth on the grid, but was unable to get past the squabbling BMWs and had to settle for sixth.

Tarquini and Nykjaer picked up points for SEAT with seventh and eighth, with BMW drivers Franz Engstler and Mehdi Bennani rounding out the points positions