Huff finished third in the drivers' championship in 2008 with two race wins

By Peter Swan BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Rob Huff believes consistency will be the key for his Chevrolet team in the 2009 World Touring Car Championship.

Huff will compete for the first time in the new Chevrolet Cruze when the season gets underway in Brazil on Saturday.

The 29-year-old finished a career best third in the 2008 drivers' championship , but will be giving himself time to adapt to his new vehicle.

He told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "It's going to be hard to turn up in Curitiba and win the race, so consistency will be important for us this season.

"We've got a brand new car and the chances of it being the fastest car on the grid, straight out of the box are pretty small."

I'd love to go better than last year, but for us it's looking like a development year with the new car Rob Huff

Huff entered the WTCC at its inception in 2005 following a season in British Touring Cars, signing up to Chevrolet alongside the experienced Alain Menu and Nicola Larini.

Following three seasons of steady improvement, last year was the first in which he managed to finish above both of his team-mates in the drivers' standings.

Huff finished 17 points shy of championship winner Yvan Muller, but just a point behind second-placed Gabriele Tarquini, with two race wins to his name.

Despite enjoying such a successful 2008, he is refusing to get too carried away ahead of the new season.

"I'd love to go better than last year, but for us it's looking like a development year with the new car," he said.

Huff has been with Chevrolet since 2005

"But consistent scoring throughout the year will win the championship and I feel on top of my game at the moment so who knows."

Chevrolet have run with the Lacetti saloon for the past four seasons, starting off as back-markers but eventually developing a pacy race car which specialised in street circuits such as Pau or Porto.

The Cruze has been in development over the winter, but despite testing in the Algarve and in Britain, Huff says it will be a bit of a step into the unknown in Brazil.

"With the way the global economy is going at the moment we were given the go-ahead for the new car three months later than we would have liked so we're three months behind with testing," he said.

"The engine is staying the same, but we've got a brand new chassis so it will take time to adjust."

The use of success ballast within the WTCC means Huff still stands a chance of overall success, even if initially the Cruze is short on race pace.

606: DEBATE How will Huff fare this season? Give us your views

The championship begins in South America with races in Brazil and Mexico and Chevrolet will be hoping for a better start than in 2008.

Huff came away from the first four races of the seasons without a single point, frustratingly being run off the road by team-mate Nicola Larini in race one in Curitiba.

"We had a slow start and unfortunately walked away from the first two events in Brazil and Mexico with nil point," he said.

"We went to the third race in Valencia and pulled 18 points from a possible 20 out of the bag and that got us started."

Huff maximised his lack of success ballast to take a win in race one and a second in race two, his best ever weekend in WTCC.

Huff will once again partner Alain Menu and Nicola Larini at Chevrolet for 2009

From there it was steady progress throughout the season, a succession of fourths and fifths with podiums at Oschersleben, Imola and Macau.

So onto 2009, where many of the same faces will be lining up on the grid.

Muller will once again lead the Seat team, whilst three times world champion Andy Priaulx remains with BMW.

At just 29-years-old, Huff knows he has plenty of racing left in him with the likes of Tarquini still going strong in their mid-forties.

Whatever happens over the next 10 months, he will be making the most of doing what he loves best.

"I had a dream to be a racing driver and I never gave up on it, but equally I was lucky to end up in the right place at the right time," he said.

"The reception the WTCC gets in every country is great, there are Chevrolet fans everywhere and at the end of the day that's what it's all about."

The 2009 WTCC season gets underway in Curitiba, Brazil on Friday, 6 March.

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