In a race of high drama, serial Macau winner Rob Huff demonstrated pure class and commitment to sensationally set a new lap record on his way to achieving LADA Sport’s second ever FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) victory and extending his own wins record on the Circuito da Guia (16 November).
A stiff breeze blew in from the South China Sea, but conditions were perfectly sunny for the season-ending races of the 2014 WTCC in Macau, reflecting the air of optimism felt within the LADA Sport camp that more podium glory was on the cards.
Huff has a long-standing affinity for the Circuito da Guia and used pure intuition and judgement to propel his LADA Granta Sport to the eighth fastest time in qualifying, while wayward rivals hampered James Thompson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy on their individual efforts.
There was a clean start to Round 23 and, despite being in the centre of a tight pack, Huff managed to maintain eighth position and remain on terms with Tom Coronel’s ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet Cruze, but soon took a defensive line as the fourth Citroen of Ma Qing Hua threatened.
The Briton played a rear-guard action against Ma, but defending proved futile as the Chinese racer’s higher top speed capabilities allowed him to simply breeze past in the high-speed first sector of lap three.
Refusing to simply relinquish the position, Huff continued to fill Ma’s mirrors, but held on to ninth position in the final classification, ahead of Thompson and Kozlovskiy in 11th and 13th respectively.
Multiple Macau winner Huff happily took up third position on the grid for Round 24, behind the Chevrolets of Tom Chilton and Hugo Valente, wanting nothing more than to extend his winning streak on the demanding inner-city track.
An electrifying start from Tiago Monteiro saw him surge into the lead on the initial run to Lisboa, where an impetuous lunge by Valente opened the door to an opportunistic Huff.
The former World Champion exploited the grip from his fresh Yokohama tyres and his LADA Granta Sport’s nimbleness through the twists and turns of sectors two and three to keep the third-placed Citroen of Yvan Muller at bay.
A late Safely Car intervention at the start of lap nine threw an unwanted variable into the mix for the LADA Sport team, but Huff continued his super-defensive job during a tense two-lap dash to the flag that followed the restart.
In a dramatic twist, the Briton took the lead from an ailing Monteiro on the penultimate lap and drove the widest car on the circuit to hold off a racy Muller, incredibly setting a new lap record (2m27.009s) on his way to achieving an unprecedented seventh win on the streets of Macau – the second ever WTCC victory for LADA Sport.
Returning to highly emotional scenes, Huff said: “To tell the truth, I came to Macau with a great desire to win and it’s fantastic to achieve my seventh victory in Macau with LADA Sport. I am so proud of the entire team – all engineers and mechanics. It has been such a tough season for us and there’s no better reward than to stand atop the podium at the final race. My LADA Granta Sport was just flying – I set the fastest lap here in Macau – and achieved the team’s second win and its third podium of the year. We achieved brilliant results in 2014 and, believe me, there will be even more wins next season with the new LADA Vesta!”
Huff’s compatriot Thompson raced hard and was rewarded with points for ninth, as young Russian Kozlovskiy suffered contrasting fortunes and ended the 2014 season in the pits with mechanical gremlins.
Thompson said: “I did my best here in Macau and it was a tough race in such hot conditions. I am very happy for everybody involved with the LADA Sport team and for Rob (Huff), as it’s great to finish such a momentous season with another race win! The LADA Sport WTCC team did a tremendous job throughout the season; here in Macau, the LADA Granta cars were really competitive. I’m now looking forward to next season with a new LADA Vesta model and I feel even more motivated for 2015.”
Kozlovskiy concluded: “I am happy for Rob (Huff) and the race victory is another well-deserved result for LADA Sport. It has been a brilliant fight and this is a great way to finish of the season! As for me, I am a bit disappointed due to some technical issues that didn’t allow me to finish the final race but, generally speaking about the whole season, the team took a huge step forward in terms of car development. I also got more experience during my second year in the championship and feel really excited about next season with the new LADA Vesta WTCC car!”
For more information on LADA Sport WTCC, please visit the official wtcc.lada.ru website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @ladasportwtcc on Twitter.