Rob Huff - Q&A

Q:
Rob, so far, all WTCC champions have returned the next season with the goal of retaining their title, surely that is the plan for you in 2013?

Rob Huff:
That is the goal, but whether it is a reality or not, we will have to wait and see. We are working on lots of different things with lots of different people, but of course the goal is to stay in a World Touring Car ideally with RML in a Chevrolet Cruze and have the number 1 sticker on the side of it - that would be the ideal choice, so that nothing changes for me. I am not adverse to coming back to the British championship (BTCC) or even going further afield for Touring Car racing. We had the most amazing 9 years with RML and Chevrolet achieving our goal and I would love another championship, but if that is not the case then I will have to find an opportunity elsewhere.

Q:
Do the proposed rule changes for 2014 interest you?

Rob Huff:
Yes definitely, I am a true believer that a World Championship should have the hardest cars to drive - it's a great idea. If we can get the cars upto 400bhp, with more aerodynamics on it too, a bit beefier and bigger, that is the way forward. The faster the car the harder you they are to drive, looking after the tyres and preserving the engines over the year is certainly another added factor, one that the public and spectators maybe don't necessarily understand as I don't think it is talked about enough. On a front wheel drive Touring Car with the tyres that we and BTCC run, you have to nurse them a bit, anything along the lines that I mentioned is a step forward.

Q:
Series such as DTM and BTCC are booming. With the likes of Chevrolet and Ford pulling out and no real factory backed cars on the grid for 2012, is WTCC in a bit of a crisis?

Rob Huff:
Yes, but I think all other forms of motorsport are in a crisis at the moment, you only have to look back 10 or so years ago to see proper true corporate sponsors, not nowadays where it is family and friends, I can struggle to name examples of that nowadays. Everyone is trying to help out here and there. The rules changes could help, but they might not have come at an ideal time, there won't be an ideal time to be changed, it needs to be a World Championship. If you put a BTC and a WTC next to eachother, I am sure the WTC would be 3 seconds a lap faster, but it is no noticeable, they need to look aggressive and have 400bhp, I am excited about the future of WTCC, it could be fantastic

Q:
What has made the Chevrolet Cruze such a unique car, we have seen it dominate for a few seasons now?

Rob Huff:
It has to be RML (Ray Mallock Limited) they really know how to prepare race cars from development stage all the way to the championship. I have been with them all the way through the Chevrolet project; the results show just how good they are from Seat to Nissan etc... They are still so good to this day and I hope to be part of their future successes.

Interview by Dexter Fielding