The 1996 season saw a brief change of course for Hughes, with five races in the German STW series with Ford, scoring four points, whilst he also tested the Ford Mondeo in the British Touring Car Championship. He returned to the British F3 in 1997 for eight rounds, driving for Piers Portman Racing and remained there in 1998, once again finishing fourth. In 1999, he moved to the MGF Cup, winning seven of the 14 races, and setting 11 fastest laps, to become champion, whilst also competing in two races of the British F3 for Ralt. In 2000, he switched to the Italian Formula 3000 for Arden Team Russia. He was championship runner-up, only missing the podium in 3 races. Hughes also tested for the Williams Formula One team during that year, but was unable to become full-time test driver, with the team opting for Marc Gené instead. He also made his debut in the British GT Championship in 2000, driving for Cirtek Motorsport in a Porsche 911 GT3-R. His first race, the Thruxton Circuit event, where he drove alongside John Cleland, resulted in a fifth-place finish, whilst his second entry, at the Oulton Park round (this time partnering Adam Simmons) saw him fail to finish.