Having qualified in 9th position, Rob Huff finished 9th in Race 1 and 9th in Race 2 at the FIA World Touring Car Championship races in Mexico at the weekend, although it could have been so different had he finished one place higher in Race 1.

After the opening races in Brazil, Rob travelled to the demanding Autodromo Miguel E Abed – Amozoc near Puebla for Rounds 3 and 4 of the WTCC. The shiny track surface is notoriously slippery, the high-speed sections of the oval and twisty infield bends are difficult to overtake on and at 2,304 metres above sea level the highest circuit on the WTCC calendar would reduce the power of the normally aspirated engined cars like Rob's Chevrolet Lacetti by as much as 20%. Still, after a good test in Spain before the trans-Atlantic flight, the 28-year old driver from Cambridgeshire was hopeful of a good result, especially as he wasn't carrying additional success ballast like some of his main rivals.

But it was to be a somewhat frustrating race weekend, which began in qualifying when Rob was forced to abort a good flying lap when red flags stopped the session. He then set his fastest lap time on his last flying lap, which was just over half a second off pole and worthy of fourth place on the grid, but he was later docked five grid places through no fault of his own, when his Chevrolet's engine refused to restart after the car had been weighed by race officials at the entrance to the pits.

"That was an entertaining session," said Rob after qualifying. "On my first lap the tyres felt awful on the first half but they got a bit better in the second half. On my second run I improved in the second sector but then the red flag came out when someone blew his engine, so it all had to happen on the last set of tyres. I had to be so aggressive to stitch together that lap you wouldn't believe it. Since there's little grip on the track, but plenty on the painted parts in the corners, I was riding the kerbs wherever I could. Unfortunately I lost five grid places when the battery voltage dropped mid-session. The team told me to come in and as I came in I was called to the weigh scales and wasn't able to start the engine after the inspection."

Race day was to prove just as frustrating, despite some great driving by the Englishman. After a great rolling start in Race 1, Rob was "sideswiped" by another car, which damaged a wheel. His best hope was to finish the opening race in 8th place, and, with the reserve grid system, start Race 2 from pole. When Rob's team-mate Alain Menu momentarily slid off the track near the end of the race, it looked like Rob might do it, but Menu managed to return to the asphalt just in time and finish 8th, leaving Rob to start Race 2 from where he finished Race 1 – in 9th.

Rob didn't make such a good standing start in Race 2 and was overtaken by two cars and dropped to 11th. On a circuit where overtaking is very difficult, he fought hard and recovered well, but for a second time he took the chequered flag in 9th place, missing out on a WTCC point by less than one second.

"At the start of the first race I got sideswiped so hard by another car, that it took a chunk of metal out of the wheel rim," said Rob. "After that it was just a case of trying to stick to what we had. In the second race I had a bad start and got passed by Farfus and Priaulx. I managed to get back by both of them again on the following laps and just tried to get in the points. On this track it's virtually impossible to overtake unless the guy in front of you makes a mistake. There's so little grip that it's sometimes worse than racing in the rain on slicks."

After two long-haul race meetings in Brazil and Mexico, Rob will have a shorter journey to the next rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, as Rounds 5 and 6 take place in Valencia in Spain on May 17-18.

Puebla Race 1 Results

1.	J Gené	SEAT Leon TDI	16 laps in 27m12s258
2.	R Rydell	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 0s415
3.	N Larini	Chevrolet Lacetti	+ 3s285
4.	T Coronel	SEAT Leon	+ 5s674
5.	G Tarquini	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 8s963
6.	Y Muller	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 10s129
9.	R Huff	Chevrolet Lacetti	+ 13s978

Puebla Race 2 Results

1.	T Monteiro	SEAT Leon TDI	16 laps in 27m40s930
2.	R Rydell	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 4s425
3.	G Tarquini	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 5s275
4.	Y Muller	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 6s013
5.	J Gené	SEAT Leon TDI	+ 8s914
6.	T Coronel	SEAT Leon	+ 11s218
9.	R Huff	Chevrolet Lacetti	+ 14s556

Drivers’ Points Standings After Race 4 Of 24
1. R Rydell (SEAT), 26 points; 2. G Tarquini (SEAT), 24; 3. Y Muller (SEAT), 22; 4. J Gené (SEAT), 10; 5. A Priaulx (BMW), 14;…

Manufacturers’ Points Standings After Race 4 Of 24
1. SEAT, 69 points; 2. BMW, 40; 3. Chevrolet, 28; 4. Honda, 0.