Huff: “I just want to be World Champion”

Britain’s Rob Huff heads to his home race for the first time in the lead of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in his seventh season. We caught up with Rob to talk about how he sees the 2011 season and his motor racing future.

TcT: This year must be a pretty exciting year for you in the WTCC. After six years of working with Chevrolet, you’re right up the front in the strongest position anyone could hope to be in. The realisation of a dream?

“I think the first thing I need to say is a massive thank you to Ray Mallock and Eric Nève for giving me the opportunity and sticking with me through those early couple of years which were really tough, not only with the car but especially for me as a driver as well and having the faith in me that I would come good. And I hope now I’m showing them what they thought they saw in me all those years ago.”

“The last three years have been absolutely fantastic, it’s been an incredible experience, it’s been an incredible journey”.

“I think I’m the longest serving RML driver…normally, only very experienced drivers get the job that I got back in 2005 with the responsibility of developing the car alongside Alain (Menu) and Nicola (Larini), and I think that’s also made me a much stronger driver as I understand the car, effectively built two cars with RML and developed them and I think that’s played a massive part in where we are today.”

Rob Huff in the RML-run SEAT Toledo in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004, where he took two wins in his maiden (and only) season

TcT: After those years developing the Lacetti and then the new Cruze in 2009, what was it like having the team’s new driver Yvan join the team last year?

“Yvan’s very much at the top of his game and has been for the last few years. He’s a very good driver, very talented, very strong and very consistent. If anything I learnt a lot from him last year, the way he handles himself, the way he approaches weekends; and I think I’ve stolen a little bit off him and put that to my own use. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re in the position we’re in this year.”

Huff in the Chevrolet Lacetti in 2006, the year in which he took his first WTCC victory at Brno in the Czech Republic

TcT: This year is it a bit of a different challenge, last year fighting with BMW and the independent SEATs, but this year it’s all between the Chevrolet drivers, and a bad result for any of you is to not take a win?

“You’re right in a way because I was disappointed with third on the grid (at Porto). I made a mistake in qualifying, I hit the wall in Turn 15, and yeah I was disappointed to be third…and that’s a wonderful position to be able to be in. Anyone else out there would be over the moon to be in third, but because I know I’ve got one of the most competitive cars on the grid if not the most competitive car on the grid, and I knew I could do better than I showed in qualifying that’s what I was disappointed about.”

“Last year we were fighting BMW, working as a team to make sure we won both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ (titles). This year we’re fighting against each other to have the same result, so it is difficult especially when your two biggest rivals have got identical machinery to you. They’ve got an open book to see what set-up you’re running and that makes it very hard because you’ve got to make the car that they’ve got faster for yourself but we can’t hide anything. Everything’s in the data, everything’s laid down on the table set-up wise. All three engineers, all three teams of mechanics, we all know what we’ve got, we’ve all got the same and it’s a case of I’ve now got to do a better job than Yvan and Alain on making sure that mine is better than theirs.”

The 2010 World Touring Car Championship winning Chevrolet Cruze

TcT: Have you thought of what you’d like to do after touring cars?

“At the moment I’m thinking about this year. I’ve had a great run with Chevrolet and long may it continue. As long as Chevrolet are in World Touring Cars, I’d be upset if I wasn’t with them. We’ve grown together, we’ve made a great partnership, I love the brand, I love what it stands for, the team are fantastic, a lot of them have been with RML for as long as I have. We’ve got great continuity in the pit-lane……I’ve got no want or need to go anywhere else whatsoever.”

TcT: Last year though, you tried some other things outside of the WTCC, such as the Belgian series and the UK Ginetta championship. Are there more things like that you’d want to try maybe in addition to the WTCC?

“I’m open to anything. I’ve never gone looking for anything. The Spa 12 Hours, I didn’t go looking for that. The Ginetta thing, I got a call from the press lady at Ginetta. All the drives I’ve ever been given outside of touring cars, people just phone me up and go ‘would you like to come and race our car for the weekend’, and I’ve never said no. The more phone calls that come in, the more stuff I’ll be doing.”

TcT: How about anything bigger, say for example trying out a Corvette at Le Mans?

“I’d love to. If the opportunity arose then I’d absolutely love to do that. That for sure would be something that I think next year I’d try and push to do, but at the end of the day, the Corvette boys, they’ve got their own drivers, they know who they like. If they decide they want and like me then fantastic.”

Rob Huff now leads the 2011 World Touring Car Championship by 29 points going into his home race in the UK

TcT: For the next race, we’re heading to Donington Park, for the first time on the WTCC calendar at least. When was the last time you raced there and how do you expect to do?

“I did a Radical last year, in the Radical UK Cup – it was on the new short circuit at Donington and that was pretty awesome, cos that car was absolutely rapid. So that was the last time I raced it.”

“I’ve always done well there, though I’ve never won. With the Radical we put it on pole by a second and a half in all three races. It’d be great to get the home win but I think really now we’ve got to start thinking about the Championship. I’ll go out there, if we get the pole then fantastic and I’ll push for the race win, but I really want to be thinking about the Championship.”

TcT: And for 2011, being in the position you’re in, surely the Championship is the objective?

“I just want to be World Champion this year, and I think this year, whoever wins it will have worked possibly harder than anyone ever before. Last year we were all going for the same goal, which was to get Yvan and Chevrolet as World Champions. This year we’re completely free to fight, as you’ve seen over the last few races. And when you’re fighting with two guys who are very quick and have the same car as you I think the satisfaction at the end of the year will be much higher, personally.”