Rob Huff admits it is ‘fantastic’ to now be the ‘most successful driver in Macau’ after the Brit claimed a record eighth victory on the streets of the former Portuguese colony in the TCR International Series on Sunday.
Huff’s victory came in his first-ever race in the championship, with the Brit stamping his mark on the Circuito da Guia once again.
Having topped both practice sessions, Huff stormed to pole position by a comfortable 1.6 seconds, before going on to win race one in a lights-to-flag display.
The second race saw Huff again start on pole, but contact with the SEAT of Jordi Gené in the high-speed first corner put both drivers heavily into the barriers and caused a pile-up behind.
“Firstly, I have to thank my long-term sponsors AG Group and OCC LASIK, as well as JAS Motorsport and WestCoast Racing,” said Huff. “What happened in race two was a shame, but I’ve come back to Macau and won again. It’s fantastic to be the most successful car driver in Macau – it’s something I’ll gladly take away with me and I certainly plan on coming back for a ninth!
“I had everything under control and was driving well within myself throughout, just focusing on managing the gap and bringing the car home in one piece.”
The race two crash was the biggest of the season for the new TCR championship, with Huff admitting to feeling a little sore after the impact.
“At the start of race two, Jordi Gene was alongside me and didn’t seem to want to turn for the corner,” explained Huff. “Of course, the entire field was behind us with nowhere to go when we hit the barriers and several cars were taken out of the running.
“There were some sizeable impacts and I’ll certainly feel it in the morning! Ultimately, it was stupid of Gené to do that, because I’m only here to win two races. I won one, the weekend went very well and I think the TCR International Series is a great feeder series to the pinnacle of touring car racing.”
Despite only contesting one meeting, Huff’s pole and victory immediately elevated him to 13th overall in the drivers’ championship, equal to Nicki Thiim, who also contested one meeting with pole and victory.