Huff wins tin-top title in Sweden

Newly crowned Scandinavian Touring Car champion Rob Huff says he is happy to stay where he is for 2021, but that he and the Lestrup Racing Team with which he claimed the title last weekend are also eyeing race events further afield.

Huff was forced out of the World Touring Car Cup for 2020 owing to VW’S withdrawal, but found a berth in Sweden with the Lestrup squad’s Golf GTIS, and entered last weekend’s Knutstorp finale in a tight three-way title battle against Robert Dahlgren and Tobias Brink.

Huff won the opening race, before Dahlgren took his PWR Racing Cupra to victory in race two, leaving the two level on points for the finale – and together on the fourth row of the reversed grid, with the Audi RS3 of outside title shot Brink right in front of the pair of them.

“It’s been incredibly tough this season, and that last race was a real nailbiter,” Huff told Autosport. “But I made the best start of my four years in the Golf – I’ve finally learned how to do it! – and I left Dahlgren standing still.”

Eventually Huff fought through to second, trailing only Lestrup junior driver

Kevin Engman (who was driving an Audi), but things got nervous again when Dahlgren lifted himself into third place.

“I had our junior driver in front of me, but I couldn’t take anything for granted so it was head down, I had to pass him,” said Huff. “I managed to get a three-second gap before Dahlgren overtook him, and then it was the longest 10 laps of my life.”

Huff, the 2012 World Touring Car champion, said he is grateful for Sweden’s strategy in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m so glad to have been able to race there,” he said, “and the organisers did well to put on four events but expand them from double to triple-headers. Sweden has taken the least precautions as far as COVID is concerned, but they have some of the lowest numbers around and we don’t have to wear facemasks [at the track].

“Have I had a thoroughly enjoyable year being a racing driver rather than having to be a politician [in the World Touring Car Cup]? Very much so. But venturing out is very much on the cards. The team would like to expand, perhaps to do some TCR Europe and other things. That’s the beauty of the TCR regulations – you can go anywhere with the car.”