Rob Huff used the Japanese rounds of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship to further strengthen his third place in the Drivers' standings. In bad weather, but in front of a near-capacity 28,000 strong crowd at the Okayama International Circuit, Huff mastered the weather gods and most of his competitors and took home nine valuable points after finishing 4th and 5th in the two races.

Located in the remote mountainous forest region of the Okayama Prefecture, near the city of Mimosaka, this was the first time Japan had hosted a round of the WTCC. The tight and twisty 2.3 mile / 12 corner track used to host the Pacific F1 Grand Prix, and in wet weather it proved a perfect venue for close and exciting touring car racing.

Driving his Chevrolet Lacetti, Rob was 9th fastest in Friday's initial familiarisation test session before qualifying 7th on Saturday.

"It was a difficult qualifying session, with the track coming and going, but overall I'm pretty pleased with my performance," said the 28-year old driver from Cambridgeshire. "I'm just two tenths off my team-mate Alain Menu who is running a lot lighter, so I'm quite happy with being seventh on the grid. It is also good to be behind Stefano D'Aste on the grid as he hopefully will try to move up and maybe create some space for me to follow him through. If not, I hope to get as many points as possible in Race One."

Race day on Sunday began in wet conditions and with a Race 1 rolling start. Rob made a good getaway, but was pushed wide at the first corner by Félix Porteiro (BMW). He then enjoyed a good race with the two other British drivers, Andy Priaulx (BMW) and James Thompson (Honda) before finishing 4th.

It had stopped raining before the start of Race 2, and with the prospect of a drying track, Rob made the brave and correct decision to start the race on slick tyres. With hardly any grip to begin with, Rob had to be very careful in the opening laps, but having achieved that he was able to increase his pace and finish 5th.

"I had a very good start but Félix Porteiro jumped the start and started to push everyone wide, which caused the first corner mayhem," explained Rob. "I was on the right-hand side of the track and came out fourth after the first corner. Then I had a few steady laps, knowing that the car would get better in the middle part of the race.

"I had a bit of a moment in Turn 1 which allowed James Thompson to pass me, but with the car getting better and better as the race progressed I managed to catch him again. I then got passed by Andy Priaulx, but on the last lap there were just too many cars for one corner which allowed me to take fourth from Tiago Monteiro. It was a good race given the difficult circumstances and I really enjoyed it.

"For race two I started on slicks, which of course meant that the first few laps would be difficult on the wet track. Then after about five laps the race started to come to us and the car got quicker and quicker and I could start passing the guys in front of me, which was quite entertaining.

"The team did a fantastic job this weekend and I am, of course, very pleased to go home with nine points and still in third position of the World Championship."

The final race weekend of the WTCC (Rounds 21 and 24) take place in Macau November 15/16.

Okayama Race 1 Results

1.	R. Rydell	(SEAT Leon TDI)	14 laps in 26m24s554
2.	J. Müller	(BMW 320si)	+5s607
3.	A. Priaulx	(BMW 320si)	+6s941
4.	R. Huff	(Chevrolet Lacetti)	+10s696
5.	T. Monteiro	(SEAT Leon TDI)	+13s051
6.	A. Farfus	(BMW 320si)	+13s203

Okayama Race 2 Results

1.	T. Coronel	(SEAT Leon)	14 laps in 26m15s135
2.	A. Farfus	(BMW 320si)	+0s097
3.	S. Hernandez	(BMW 320si)	+6s426
4.	J. Thompson	(Honda Accord Euro R)	+7s207
5.	R. Huff	(Chevrolet Lacetti)	+8s363
6.	Y. Muller	(SEAT Leon TDI)	+15s576

Drivers' Points Standings After Race 22 Of 24
1. Y Muller (SEAT), 100 points; 2. G Tarquini (SEAT), 86; 3. R Huff (Chevrolet), 73; 4. R Rydell (SEAT), 72; 5. A Priaulx (BMW), 67.

Manufacturers' Points Standings After Race 22 Of 24
1. SEAT, 304 points; 2. BMW, 251; 3. Chevrolet, 211; 4. Honda, 55.