WTCC team-mate rough and tumble not pictured at LADA Sport

The FIA World Touring Car Championship might feature plenty of bumper-to-bumper racing but there’s no rough and tumble at LADA Sport, where Rob Huff insists his friendship with team-mate and fellow Briton James Thompson comes first.

Along with Mikhail Kozlovskiy, Huff and Thompson form LADA’s WTCC effort and have been regulars in the championship for several seasons, with Huff about to embark on his 11th WTCC campaign and his second with the Russian squad.

“It’s always difficult to maintain a good relationship, especially when you’re one-two-three on the grid,” Huff explained. “At some point things are going to come unstuck but I have to say James is the nicest and most honest team-mate I’ve ever had.

“Last year was really enjoyable, the most enjoyable ever. We genuinely get on, we have a lot of fun but we work very well together. There’s always going to come a point when we have a problem but I’m always more comfortable sorting that out with James than with any other team-mate.”

The 2015 WTCC season begins in Argentina from 6-8 March when LADA Sport unleashes its all-new Vesta racer for the first time.