Cambridge racer Rob Huff is confident that a big step forward was made in the latest rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at the weekend as the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK driver produced a battling display at Brands Hatch.
On what proved to be a scorching visit to the Kent circuit – which was the scene of Huff’s maiden win in the UK’s premier motorsport series two decades ago – the 44-year-old found himself in the thick of the action on race day as he tallied a pair of points finishes.
Those results, along with improved performance from his Toyota Corolla GR Sport, has now left the former FIA World Touring Car Championship title winner confident that they can start to become a force to be reckoned with towards the front of the field on a consistent basis.
Dialling in the set-up of his front-wheel-drive machine across Saturday’s two practice sessions, Huff enjoyed a positive outing in qualifying as he firstly progressed into Q2 before then securing a spot on the sixth row of the grid for race one.
Lining up in 11th for the first of Sunday’s three contests, Huff elected to run the medium compound and enjoyed a relatively trouble-free run to the chequered flag where he maintained his position.
Starting outside the top 10 for race two and with a free choice of what tyre to run, Huff bolted on the grippier soft tyre and showed his class as he produced a superlative drive that saw him fight his way through the field within a matter of laps.
Running as high as sixth at one stage and with the podium places within his sights, the BRDC Member was told by officials that he needed to pit to rectify flapping bodywork that was caused by a rival making contact with the rear of his car.
Tasked with starting from the back of the grid for the third and final race, Huff further demonstrated his talents behind the wheel as pulled off a number of overtakes on his way to finishing in ninth place.
“It’s been another up and down weekend but one that I come away from feeling really positive,” said Huff. “We’ve made a real step forward with the car and I feel a lot more tuned into it now; that’s got me excited for the coming rounds.
“We played a little bit of a tactical game in race one to ensure we were on the soft tyre for race two and it looked like it was paying off before we got told to come into the pits through no fault of our own.
“That was obviously very frustrating but I’m happy that we managed to bounce back in race three by going from the back of the grid to inside the top 10. The car felt the best it has done so far this season and had we had a few more laps I think we could have finished a bit higher.”
The season will continue over the weekend of 25-26 May in Norfolk at the Snetterton Circuit with rounds seven, eight and nine.
