ROB HUFF: THE TIN-TOP CHAMPION WHO FOUGHT HIS WAY TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD
There can’t be many drivers who have gone from racing an MGB to the very summit of world motorsport, but Rob Huff’s career was never going to follow a standard path.
His has been a journey of determination and unwavering belief against the odds. There were no deep pockets to support his early racing, and he had to grab any opportunities that came his way. Three scholarships in his nascent career were the lifelines he needed just to remain on track.
He snatched those chances and made the absolute most of them to put the building blocks in place for what would go on to become a top-flight career as a fully-fledged manufacturer driver. Ultimately, it led him to the top of motorsport with victory in the World Touring Car Championship in 2012. The circle had been completed, and the hard work and dedication to his career had finally reaped the biggest prize of all.
It has been hard to nail down Huff for this interview as he jets around the world plying his trade, but we found him with an hour to spare in a hotel room somewhere in Eastern Europe. As ever with Huff, who is racing a Leon Cupra in the World Touring Car Cup this year, his answers are insightful and comprehensive.
Question: Where did the motorsport passion come from?
John Charles Via email
Rob Huff: “Yes the interest was from my family, but there was no motorsport competition heritage from the Huffs. My dad, Peter, was a fan.
“He had always loved motorsport. My dad was a chartered surveyor and he had a group of friends from the round table that they all used to be involved in in Cambridge. Through that, he found some enthusiastic like-minded people who liked motor racing and they used to go off to the British Touring Car Championship and events like that, and then they used to go to Le Mans too. They got friendly with a local driver called Gareth Chapman and they used to go off and watch him too in sportscars.
“I have pictures of me at Spa watching Group C cars and at the Willhire 24-hour race at Snetterton when I was probably six or seven years old. Dad had a Ford Sierra Cosworth – maybe late 1980s –and I remember getting in that and going to Snetterton and camping. It poured with rain and when we got back to our tent, it was full of water! Dad hadn’t put it up properly…we
