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Former BTCC stars dominate the WTCC in China

By MJP Media | 6 October 2014

Former British Touring Car Championship stars Rob Huff and Tom Chilton share the victories in Beijing with Huff giving LADA their first ever WTCC win.

Rob Huff (centre) on the podium after race 2 from Beijing

Last weekend saw the World Touring Car Championship arrive in Beijing for the annual Chinese leg of the global series. Former British Touring Car Championship stars Rob Huff and Tom Chilton shared the spoils with a victory apiece in the People's Republic of China.

Tom Chilton had surprised everybody taking pole position in the morning and was simply unapproachable during the race. A long safety car period from lap 3, caused by an accident between Borkoviæ and Münnich, which initially wiped out Chilton's 4 second advantage, didn't impact at all on his composure. Chilton completed a magnificent 'lights to finish' victory to claim his 3rd WTCC win and his second in Beijing.

Rob Huff at the wheel of his LADA Granta 1.6T

Tom Chilton said after race 1: "It's absolutely fantastic, I am so happy with this win. It's the third one in the WTCC and the second in China, so it shows this country brings me luck. We were very pleased with the performance of the car, actually the circuit suited us much better than we had anticipated. I took a perfect start and then pushed hard to build an advantage. The safety car period occurred shortly after, but I managed to stay cool and avoid Yvan Muller who tried to out-brake me at the restart. I was able to rebuild the gap and that was enough to secure the win."

Celebrating LADA's first ever WTCC win with the team

In race 2 it was former BTCC racer and WTCC champion Rob Huff from Cambridge who stole the show with his first win of the season and LADA's first ever WTCC win. Huff was quick off the line and led at the end of lap 1, a position he held throughout the race despite a huge challenge from Tom Coronel in the closing stages. Despite only completing 1 season in the BTCC in 2004, Huff still managed 2 wins and 7 podiums in the season with SEAT before becoming World Touring Car Champion in 2012 with Chevrolet.

Rob Huff, winner of race 2 said: "It's simply fantastic, who would have thought that we would win a race this season. Even after the great podium finish in Argentina, this is my first win since Macau last year and certainly the hardest to obtain in my career. It is certainly one I will cherish forever. I am so happy for LADA Sport and all the boys, they have done such a fabulous job. We kept believing, fighting and working, and that paid off. Everything went well in race 2: a good start, then I pushed hard in the initial laps to build enough gap. The car was strong and after that, I tried to just manage the gap and the tyres, in case I needed to push again at the end. In the final laps I had some vibrations on the front left, but could keep Tom Coronel at bay and win."

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