Former World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff will return to the BTCC after six years, piloting a CUPRA Leon with Team HARD in place of Nicolas Hamilton at Knockhill.
Rob Huff will return to BTCC at Knockhill
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The announcement comes ahead of the BTCC’s annual trip north of the border at Knockhill in Fife, and will be Huff’s first appearance on a BTCC grid since Silverstone 2017, which was another one-off outing, this time with Power Maxed Racing.
Prior to that, he competed in a single season with SEAT Sport UK alongside Jason Plato in 2004, winning twice on his way to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship before moving to the WTCC with Chevrolet the following year, culminating in Huff becoming the 2012 World Champion, narrowly beating team-mates Alain Menu and Yvan Muller to the crown in Macau.
More recently, he has been plying his trade in the TCR World Tour with Audi Sport Team Comtoyou, where he sits fourth in the standings thanks to a win at Vallelunga and a further two podium results at Portimao and the Hungaroring. The second half of the TCR World Tour gets underway in Uruguay just one week after the BTCC’s visit to Knockhill.
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“I am delighted to be back in the British Touring Car Championship, especially with Team HARD Racing”, enthused Huff. “The BTCC holds a special place in my heart, and I have fond memories of my previous time here. I’m eager to hit the Knockhill circuit again and compete against some of the finest drivers in the country.”
Team HARD will be hoping that Huff will be able to repeat his performance in 2017 and achieve a podium result, something only Bobby Thompson - who stepped down during the summer break - has managed this season. Tony Gilham, Team HARD owner, also stated that getting Rob Huff to drive for his Cupra squad had been a project he’d been working on for some time.
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“I’m delighted that this moment has finally come,” he said. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Rob join our team for this weekend’s BTCC round. His experience and achievements in the world of touring car racing speaks volumes about his skills.”
Huff will drive in place of Nicolas Hamilton, who sits out the Scottish round after withdrawing from the previous meeting at Croft. Earlier in the year, Hamilton scored his best-ever BTCC result in the rain-affected second race at Donington Park, finishing sixth under the watchful eye of his seven-time World Champion brother, Lewis.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images
