Rob Huff’s reflections about the new season

After eight years at the wheel of the RML Chevrolet cars, reigning champion Rob Huff sits in a SEAT León run by the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport.

“I am excited. I can’t wait to race with number one on my car! At the same time, I know it’s going to be a tough season. The SEAT is an excellent car, but six years old. Gabriele did wonders at its wheel, but couldn’t get really close to the Chevrolet cars. I have to be realistic, but I am also optimistic. New things are happening in the championship and if the circumstances are right, we may be good. My aim is to win a few races and claim some other podium results. I am confident that it will be an enjoyable year for me.”

The German team are new to WTCC, but they won the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship. Huff joined them for the first time in a test at the Slovakia Ring.

“The test was very good, but it was only one day. However, right from the beginning I felt comfortable in the car and with the team. They are an amazing team, but for sure when I first met them it was different after nine years at RML. They were speaking German instead of English! And yet the feeling was familiar. Professional teams look all the same.”

One day test is hardly enough to understand the potential of a racing car.
“I cannot really say what are its strong points. It would be difficult to compare it to the Chevrolet, that has been the fastest car in the last years. The first feeling was good, the engine looks strong, the chassis reacts in a way that reminds me the Cruze. The car is balanced and behaves well. SEAT Sport people are one of the best teams and the León has achieved so much in the past, with Gabriele and Yvan, but has no longer been developed recently. I hope I can help the team to develop it a bit further.”

The 2013 WTCC promises exciting competition on track and Huff doesn’t go too far with predictions.

“I am not a betting man. Everybody thinks that Yvan is the man to beat. I know very well how much him and the Chevrolet may be quick. But Gabriele and Tiago will be competitive too, as they did a lot of testing. And there are other people to watch. Anyone in a Chevrolet: Nash, Chilton, MacDowall. The BMW guys and we can’t forget Thompson and the LADA. They have worked one year on the car and I’m sure they have improved a lot. I hope we can be good and fight with them, but we can’t really say who has the best package until we get to Monza and start running all together. I hope we upset a few people during the season…”