Good for them – they’ve transformed their car from being a couple of tenths off the pace to half a second quicker than anything else in a straight line. They did a cracking job, and it’s obviously up to us to try and catch up again. It was a little bit disheartening, I have to say, because just at the point where Chevrolet was starting to come on really strong and getting on top of everyone out there – seven wins out of 22 races we just walked away with – they come and bring the diesel out. It was a little frustrating in that sense, but at the same time it’s a new goal for us to aim at, and I think there’s no reason why we can’t achieve that as long as the
FIA wear thicker glasses this year.
Q:
How confident are you that it will be a more level playing field on those terms?
RH:
We’ve got to wait and see. We’ve got to be careful, because in the first two rounds [in Brazil and Mexico] a turbodiesel is going to have an advantage. We’re at serious altitude, and everyone knows petrol engines struggle, whilst a diesel isn’t going to be quite as affected because obviously they can just wind the boost up or whatever; they can come across ways of upping the power of it quite easily. With a normally-aspirated engine, if the air is the thickness that it is there, it will only combust at that rate.
It’s going to be very difficult, and the FIA have to be very careful and perhaps not call it too soon – I think it would be unfair on SEAT if they did do that – but at the same time there has to be equality. When you’ve got a diesel engine with a turbo and a petrol engine without a turbo, it’s going to be a very tall task for them this year to get the equality. We’re just relying on them to do as good a job as they’ve ever done and make it as equal as possible. At the end of the day we’re all here to race, but it’s very difficult to race something that’s a lot quicker than you in a straight line.
Q:
You talk about the races, and obviously there are a couple of new events this year at Okayama in Japan and Estoril in Portugal. How are you looking forward to those two?
RH:
I’m really looking forward to Japan – it will be another challenge – and, like I say, last year at all four new tracks we went to, the Chevrolet came away with a win. We’d like to keep that going, and we’ve done some winter testing at Estoril. I think looking at the circuit, it might favour the rear wheel-drive BMWs a little bit better; with its long sweeping corners they can get on the power nice and early and get the car moving around and use the back end to steer it, whereas with the front wheel-drive the longer corners are quite difficult because you’re constantly fighting understeer. We’ll just have to wait and see, but there’s no reason – with the work RML have done on the car – why Chevrolet can’t come away with the championship this year.
Q:
Andy Priaulx has said he believes there are as many as 14 drivers capable of winning races with the Chevrolets, BMWs, SEATs and Honda; just how tough is it going to be?
RH:
For sure it’s going to be the toughest it’s ever been. Andy has done a fantastic job – he truly is a legend now in touring cars. You can’t fault the guy; he’s done the most unbelievable job for the last four years. To walk away from last year with three world championships back-to-back under his belt really is something that I think will stay in the record books for a very, very long time.
BMW have been the ones to beat for the last four years, and I’m looking forward to standing here next year saying Chevrolet were the ones to beat last year.
Q:
So is 2008 the year that Rob Huff takes Andy Priaulx’s crown..?
RH:
I’d like to think so. You never know – I don’t want to come across as arrogant at all, but at the end of the day if I don’t believe it then it won’t happen, and I truly believe that I’m in a position now where we can do it. We’ll just have to wait and see, but I believe I can do it and I hope there are a few other people out there who believe I can do it as well.
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