Robert "Rob" Huff | |
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Huff at the2014 FIA WTCC Race of Belgium. | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Born | (1979-12-25)25 December 1979 (age 45) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
World Touring Car Championship and World Touring Car Cup career | |
Debut season | 2005 |
Current team | Zengo Motorsport |
Car number | 12 |
Former teams | Chevrolet,Lada Sport Rosneft,Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team,Münnich Motorsport,Sébastien Loeb Racing |
Starts | 286 |
Wins | 30 |
Poles | 15 |
Fastest laps | 31 |
Best finish | 1st in2012 |
Previous series | |
2010 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 2000 | Ginetta G50 Cup BTCC SEAT Cupra Championship Clio Cup GB British Formula Renault FPA Winter Series Formula Vauxhall |
Championship titles | |
2022 2020 2012 2003 2000 | WTCR Trophy TCR STCC WTCC SEAT Cupra Championship Formula Vauxhall |
BTCC record | |
Drivers' championships | 0 |
Wins | 4 |
Podium finishes | 11 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 1 |
Debut season | 2004 |
First win | 2004 |
Best championship position | 7th (2004) |
Robert "Rob" Peter Huff (born 25 December 1979) is a British racing driver currently competing in theBritish Touring Car Championship forToyota Gazoo Racing UK. He was the2012World Touring Car Championship champion and the2020Scandinavian Touring Car Championship champion.
A Christmas Day birth in 1979 inCambridge, Huff had a long junior career in karting. He attendedSt Faith's School andThe Leys School, Cambridge, from 1993 to 1996. He won the 2000 Formula Vauxhall championship, and class B of the 2001 Ethyl MG Championship (also finishing as runner-up in this series in 2000). His father's Chartered Surveying firm has been one of his main sponsors.[1]
Huff entered the big time by winning the inauguralSEAT Cupra Challenge in 2003,[2] winning a paid drive in theBritish Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for the next season alongside former championJason Plato as a result. He battled on track with Plato in the second race atThruxton but later lost his front splitter and retired, doing so again in the third race of the day. Huff started fifth atBrands Hatch and he was leading just before the safety car came out. He led away at the restart but was demoted to second byMatt Neal on the following lap and those position stuck until the end of the race, Huff claimed his first BTCC podium. He started round 8 atSilverstone on the reversed grid pole but second placed starterKelvin Burt took the lead straight away and Huff soon fell victim to theVauxhall ofJames Thompson.[3] A collision withMichael Bentwood in the second race atMondello Park meant Huff was disqualified and he started race three from the back. Huff eventually fell down to 7th place but he scored his second podium of the season in the third race. He claimed his first BTCC race win in round 24 at Brands Hatch and he repeated this success a fortnight later atSnetterton. He adjusted well, finishing 7th overall in the championship. In 2017, Huff made a return with Vauxhall atSilverstone as a step in forTom Chilton after he got ruled out on medical grounds.[4][5] He led for a majority of race 3, but eventually dropped behindMatt Neal late in the race and finished second, scoring the team's best result of the season.
TheSEAT BTCC team was run byRay Mallock in 2004, and when his company took on the fledglingChevrolet WTCC project, they retained Huff.[6] At the season openingRace of Italy, he finished ahead of his more experienced teammatesAlain Menu andNicola Larini in race one. He collided with theBMW ofAntonio García in his home race at Silverstone, forcing him to retire. In what was a difficult season with the new car, Huff's best result of 2005 was a sixth place in Mexico and with it he took the first points for the Lacetti in the WTCC. He finished the year joint 20th withStéphane Ortelli in the drivers' championship with only the three points scored in Mexico. That year he also did a one off in the guest car of thePorsche Carrera Cup GB, but collided with championship contenderTim Harvey in race one.
In2006 he finished fourth atBrands Hatch, which was his best result of the first half of the season. He was taken to hospital after an accident atPuebla.[7] At the following event atBrno in the Czech Republic, Huff started 24th due to two 10-place grid penalties, but he fought through to eighth place in the first race, which gave him pole for race 2 – giving him a lead he never relinquished en route to a first WTCC win, and the first for Chevrolet in the dry.[8] However, the rest of the season was short on results, he finished 16th in the final standings.
There was an improvement in form once again from the Chevrolet team in2007, Huff took a further win at theScandinavian Raceway in Sweden, plus three more podiums,[9] including his part in a Chevrolet 1–2–3 atPorto.[10] These results ultimately left him ninth overall in the series, but behind team-mates Larini and Menu. The team took a win at every new circuit introduced for the 2007 season.
He opened2008 with four pointless races, but came in first and second in the two races atValencia.[11] He was disqualified from the second race of theFIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic due to his car having an illegal anti-roll bar linkage.[12] At Brands Hatch he made his 100th WTCC start,[13] qualifying third and taking the lead after a lap one collision between Menu and pole sitterAugusto Farfus. He led until a puncture three laps from the end. He finished the season third in the championship, behindSEAT driversYvan Muller andGabriele Tarquini.
For2009, Chevrolet switched to theCruze chassis.[14] Huff did not make the best of starts to the season, failing to progress through to Q2 at theRace of Brazil and scoring no points. It was not until theRace of Morocco when things picked up; Huff took pole position and won the first race to take his first points of the season and the first win for the Chevrolet Cruze. He qualified fifth at theRace of France but a good start meant he passed pole sitter Andy Priaulx and then Farfus on the second lap to take his second win of the season. Huff qualified on the front row for his home event, theRace of UK. He passed pole sitter Menu and led away from the restart after the safety car but was re-passed Menu, depriving Huff of a home win and putting him under pressure from the BMW of Priaulx. Huff qualified sixth for theRace of Germany but dropped to sixteenth on the grid after an engine change incurred a ten-place grid penalty. A first lap incident in the first race eliminated Huff along withJörg Müller,Jordi Gené and Farfus. Gené caused an accident in the first race of theRace of Italy, making contact with Huff under braking who then made contact withSEAT ofRickard Rydell. Huff escaped any serious damage to hold onto third. He took pole position for the season finale atMacau and dominated the first race. Huff finished the season ranked fifth in the championship, ahead of teammatesAlain Menu andNicola Larini.
In 2010, he finished the championship third behind new teammate Yvan Muller and Tarquini.
The Chevrolet Cruze was the dominant car in2011, winning all but three races. The Chevrolet drivers were in a title battle all of their own, with Huff leading the championship early in the season. Muller took the lead later on, taking the battle right down to the last event atMacau. Huff won both races but this was not enough to stop Muller taking the title, his second with Chevrolet and his third in total.[15]
In2012, Chevrolet announced this to be their last season in WTCC. The Chevy Cruze "blue train" with Huff,Yvan Muller andAlain Menu was again dominant over the field, taking 20 wins out of 24 races in the season. Muller took nine wins and led the championship for most of the season, Huff showed consistency and finished in the points for all the races except two. Finishing behind Muller did not seem enough until Muller tagged Menu from the lead in Shanghai, the penultimate round of the championship, sending Menu into a big slide and letting Huff through to overtake both of them and win the race. Menu lost a vital race win and Muller was given a penalty after the race, putting him out of the points altogether, giving Huff a big lead in the points. Menu was furious with Muller, saying "Yvan ruined both of their championships".[16] In the final round in Macau, Huff was a clear favourite with a 37-point lead over Menu and 42 over Muller after qualifying on pole. In the first race though, drama unfolded. Huff lost the lead to Muller on lap one and overtook him on lap four to regain the lead but right after made a driving error and touched the barrier twice, forcing him to retire with damage. Muller won the race ahead of Menu, both reviving their chances for the championship.[17] Huff's car got repaired for race two, with the help of both Menu's and Muller's crews in Chevrolet. Huff started the race eighth and had to finish fifth to secure the championship. On lap four, Yvan Muller ran into the back ofAlex MacDowall's Chevrolet coming out of Mandarin, the fastest corner in the WTCC calendar, which spun MacDowall into the wall hard. The race was effectively finished with two safety car periods. Huff finished the race second behind Menu and ahead of Muller, with Chevrolet's campaign in World Touring Cars ending on another 1–2–3 finish for the team. Second place points were more than enough for Huff to win his first World Touring Car title and the first title for a British driver sinceAndy Priaulx in 2007.[18]
Huff joinedALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport in February 2013, driving one of the team'sSEAT León WTCCs and replacingMarkus Winkelhock in their line-up for the2013 season.[19] He failed to set a time in qualifying for theRace of Italy having collided with theWiechers-Sport car ofFredy Barth in the first few minutes of Q1 and breaking his suspension.[20] He was allowed to start the races from the back and climbed up to sixth place at the end of race one.[21] His car received further attention prior to the start of race two and he started from the pit lane and finished tenth.[22]
At the2013 FIA WTCC Race of China it was announced Huff would joinLada Sport for the2014 World Touring Car Championship season, having signed a two–year deal with the team.[23]
Robert Huff was the driver who did not drive the dominating Citroën C-Elysée and who won the most numerous races in 2014 : two races, thanks to theinverted grid departure for the race 2 and a 60 kg lowercompensation weight. In spite of these advantages, he proved thus his level of driving performances.
Lada introduced a new car for the 2015 WTCC season : the Lada Vesta, developed mainly by the French companyOreca.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded in first race) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point given all races)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | SEAT Sport UK | SEAT Toledo Cupra | THR 1 6 | THR 2 Ret | THR 3 Ret | BRH 1 2* | BRH 2 11 | BRH 3 4 | SIL 1 10 | SIL 2 7* | SIL 3 3 | OUL 1 7 | OUL 2 Ret | OUL 3 Ret | MON 1 8 | MON 2 DSQ | MON 3 Ret | CRO 1 5 | CRO 2 2 | CRO 3 2* | KNO 1 Ret | KNO 2 6 | KNO 3 5 | BRH 1 7 | BRH 2 3 | BRH 3 1* | SNE 1 12 | SNE 2 8 | SNE 3 1* | DON 1 10 | DON 2 11 | DON 3 5 | 7th | 148 |
2017 | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | THR 1 | THR 2 | THR 3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | CRO 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | KNO 3 | ROC 1 | ROC 2 | ROC 3 | SIL 1 16 | SIL 2 8 | SIL 3 2* | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | 25th | 26 |
2023 | Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown | Cupra León | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | THR 1 | THR 2 | THR 3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | CRO 3 | KNO 1 13 | KNO 2 14 | KNO 3 Ret | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | SIL 3 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | 26th | 5 |
2024 | Toyota Gazoo Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | DON 1 18 | DON 2 9 | DON 3 6* | BRH 1 11 | BRH 2 Ret | BRH 3 9 | SNE 1 9 | SNE 2 14 | SNE 3 1* | THR 1 12 | THR 2 10 | THR 3 9 | OUL 1 10 | OUL 2 11 | OUL 3 12 | CRO 1 7 | CRO 2 2* | CRO 3 6 | KNO 1 8 | KNO 2 12 | KNO 3 1* | DON 1 7 | DON 2 7 | DON 3 15 | SIL 1 17 | SIL 2 11 | SIL 3 7 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 16 | BRH 3 Ret | 9th | 195 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
†Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | WestCoast Racing | Honda Civic TCR | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | SHA 1 | SHA 2 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | ALG 1 | ALG 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | SAL 1 | SAL 2 | SOC 1 | SOC 2 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | MRN 1 | MRN 2 | CHA 1 | CHA 2 | MAC 1 1 | MAC 2 Ret | 14th | 30 |
2017 | Leopard Racing Team WRT | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | RIM 1 | RIM 2 | BHR 1 | BHR 2 | SPA 1 6 | SPA 2 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | SAL 1 Ret | SAL 2 DNS | HUN 1 Ret | HUN 2 11 | OSC 1 3 | OSC 2 Ret | CHA 1 5 | CHA 2 8 | ZHE 1 3 | ZHE 2 1 | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | 9th | 106 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Sébastien Loeb Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | MAR 1 3 | MAR 2 18 | MAR 3 7 | HUN 1 5 | HUN 2 1 | HUN 3 8 | GER 1 3 | GER 2 Ret | GER 3 Ret | NED 1 3 | NED 2 8 | NED 3 2 | POR 1 Ret | POR 2 DNS | POR 3 DNS | SVK 1 19 | SVK 2 Ret | SVK 3 13 | CHN 1 6 | CHN 2 5 | CHN 3 6 | WUH 1 14 | WUH 2 10 | WUH 3 Ret | JPN 1 23† | JPN 2 1 | JPN 3 6 | MAC 1 3 | MAC 2 24 | MAC 3 2 | 8th | 242 |
2019 | SLR VW Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | MAR 1 12 | MAR 2 22 | MAR 3 15 | HUN 1 14 | HUN 2 7 | HUN 3 7 | SVK 1 13 | SVK 2 5 | SVK 3 13 | NED 1 Ret | NED 2 11 | NED 3 10 | GER 1 4 | GER 2 Ret | GER 3 DNS | POR 1 4 | POR 2 7 | POR 3 5 | CHN 1 10 | CHN 2 7 | CHN 3 Ret | JPN 1 10 | JPN 2 2 | JPN 3 7 | MAC 1 4 | MAC 2 14 | MAC 3 2 | MAL 1 23 | MAL 2 9 | MAL 3 9 | 11th | 211 |
2021 | Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA León Competición TCR | GER 1 Ret | GER 2 Ret | POR 1 9 | POR 2 10 | ESP 1 Ret | ESP 2 9 | HUN 1 Ret | HUN 2 18 | CZE 1 8 | CZE 2 Ret | FRA 1 NC | FRA 2 15 | ITA 1 13 | ITA 2 9 | RUS 1 Ret | RUS 2 1 | 18th | 73 | ||||||||||||||
2022 | Zengő Motorsport | CUPRA León Competición TCR | FRA 1 12 | FRA 2 8 | GER 1 C | GER 2 C | HUN 1 6 | HUN 2 2 | ESP 1 2 | ESP 2 2 | POR 1 6 | POR 2 1 | ITA 1 8 | ITA 2 6 | ALS 1 5 | ALS 2 1 | BHR 1 | BHR 2 | SAU 1 9 | SAU 2 5 | 6th | 210 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Lestrup Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | KAR 1 4 | KAR 2 2 | KAR 3 3 | SKE 1 2 | SKE 2 3 | SKE 3 8 | MAN 1 2 | MAN 2 2 | MAN 3 4 | KNU 1 1 | KNU 2 2 | KNU 3 1 | 1st | 209 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Team MG XPower | MG 6 X-Power TCR | ZHU1 1 | ZHU1 2 | ZHU2 1 | ZHU2 2 | SHA 1 | SHA 2 | JIA1 1 | JIA1 2 | JIA2 1 | JIA2 2 | MAC 1 1 | MAC 2 23 | 13th | 20 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR | ALG 1 3 | ALG 2 6 | SPA 1 5 | SPA 2 10 | VAL 1 4 | VAL 2 1 | HUN 1 9 | HUN 2 2 | ELP 1 7 | ELP 2 4 | VIL 1 3 | VIL 2 3 | SYD 1 4 | SYD 2 2 | SYD 3 1 | BAT 1 6 | BAT 2 4 | BAT 3 3 | MAC 1 3 | MAC 2 12 | 3rd | 414 |
2024 | Volcano Motorsport | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | MRK 1 | MRK 2 | MDO 1 | MDO 2 | SAP 1 | SAP 2 | ELP 1 | ELP 2 | ZHZ 1 9 | ZHZ 2 7 | MAC 1 6 | MAC 2 Ret | 12th | 40 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR | ALG 1 3 | ALG 2 6 | PAU 1 | PAU 2 | SPA 1 5 | SPA 2 10 | HUN 1 9 | HUN 2 2 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | NC‡ | 0‡ |
‡ Driver was a World Tour full-time entry and was ineligible for points.
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Car No. | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Chrysler Viper GTS-R | 6 | GT3 | 142 | DNF | DNF |
2010 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Aquila CR1 | 3 | 1 | 178 | DNF | DNF |
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Media related toRobert Huff at Wikimedia Commons
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Inaugural | SEAT Cupra Championship Champion 2003 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | World Touring Car Championship Champion 2012 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | STCC TCR Scandinavia Touring Car Championship Champion 2020 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | WTCR Trophy Champion 2022 | Succeeded by None (Series ended) |