Abbie Eaton | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Born | Hull, England | 2 January 1992
British GT career | |
Debut season | 2009 |
Current team | AE Racing |
Racing licence | FIA Silver |
Car number | 44 |
Starts | 101 |
Wins | 25 |
Podiums | 38 |
Poles | 4 |
Fastest laps | 16 |
Previous series | |
Cadet, Minimax, Junior Max, Saxmax, Production Touring car Championship, British GT, Blancpain GT | |
Championship titles | |
2014, 2010 | 2014 Mazda MX-5 Supercup Champion, Production Touring Car Class B Champion |
Abigail Eaton (born 2 January 1992) [1] is an English racing driver from the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. She starred as the test driver for the second and third series of The Grand Tour , [2] an Amazon Prime Video-exclusive motoring series.
Eaton is a qualified racing instructor and a performance driving coach. [3] [4] [5] In October 2021, Eaton broke her back in an accident during a W Series race at the Circuit of the Americas, requiring rehabilitation and a break from racing. [6] [7] She returned to race in the W Series in 2022. [8]
Eaton began kart racing at the age of ten [1] in the Comer cadet class, gaining invaluable track craft along with numerous podiums and wins. She then resumed kart racing for three more years, moving up into Minimax and then Junior Max, competing in the Super 1 series.
Eaton completed her first season racing cars in 2007, in the SAXMAX Championship at various tracks around the United Kingdom with a highest position of fourth place. In 2008, Eaton returned to the SAXMAX championship and led for most of the year but ended in fourth place, with three podiums and two fastest laps.
In 2009, Eaton moved into her first year of adult car racing in the Production Touring Car Championship, driving a Vauxhall Corsa SRi-R. She won the class B championship outright with 9/18 wins, sixteen podium positions, and seven fastest laps, finishing second overall in the championship.
In 2010, Eaton was without a team when her British GT debut fell through a few weeks before the season was due to start. However, she did manage to make one race in the Mazda MX-5 Mk1 championship, finishing third out of over 90 entries.
In 2011, Eaton raced a rear wheel drive Mazda MX-5 Cup car. After a tough season where she missed several rounds due to a lack of budget, Eaton managed to achieve eleven top-ten finishes and a third place qualifying position.
Eaton competed in a handful of races in the 2012 Mazda MX-5 Cup, but had to withdraw owing to family circumstances.
In 2013, Eaton raced in the last three races of the Mazda MX-5 SuperCup with a win, two second places, one third and one fourth. She also raced in the Autumn Challenge and achieved two second places.
In 2014, Eaton returned to the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) Mazda MX-5 Supercup Championship for the last time. Despite car troubles early in the season, Eaton went on to achieve five wins, seven podium finishes, six fastest laps, two pole positions, and a new lap record. She was crowned the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Supercup Champion. [9] During a race at the Anglesey Circuit, she qualified on pole position eight-tenths of a second ahead of second placed position, and went on to win, set the fastest lap, and then set a new lap record, all within three races.
Eaton entered GT Racing via the UK based championship GT Cup. [10] She competed for part of season in a BMW E46 M3 GTR run by Geoff Steel Racing. Eaton achieved one win, eight podium finishes, and three fastest laps.
In 2016, Eaton moved to the British GT Championship in a Maserati Granturismo MC GT4, the first time that Maserati had been in the British GT for over 20 years. She shared driving duties with Marcus Hoggarth, [11] [12] and their team placed second in the Pro/Am Championship and fourth overall.
In 2017, Eaton began with a year out, and was then offered a one off drive for the 2017 Blancpain GT Series in a Ferrari 488 GT3 run by AF Corse. [13] This was Eaton's first time in a GT3 specification car and first time at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Italy. Following ten laps of practice, Eaton entered the race as one of the 52 cars starting, and finished in first position in the Am cup, [13] making her the first female driver ever to win a class in the series. [14] The car was number 961, driven by Eaton, Alex Demirdjian, and Davide Rizzo. [15]
Eaton appeared on ITV's Drive in 2015, coaching rapper Professor Green in various racing car challenges over a five-week period. [16] This included mud buggy, stock car, and sports car races. Eaton and Professor Green were the most successful pairing, staying out of the eliminator night race and making it through to the final round. Eaton and Professor Green were crowned champions in the last episode. [17]
Eaton appears as the test driver from the second series onwards of the British motoring show The Grand Tour , [2] [18] replacing the previous first series test driver Mike Skinner. [19] James May stated in November 2017 that a large number of drivers had been tested, and that "she was the fastest and the best". [20] Eaton was later introduced to the show in the second episode of the second series, on 15 December 2017, [21] when she was shown testing a green Mercedes-AMG GT R around the Eboladrome test track. [22] [23] In the Mercedes, Eaton says "Right, here we go" to herself, before starting the lap and completing the test drive silently. [24] Eaton did not have her name mentioned at all throughout the episode, only being referred to as "she", and her name was only shown in the credits at the end of the episode, credited as "driver". [22] [25]
Motor1.com speculated that The Grand Tour would likely be under legal restrictions, and needing to provide differentiation between The Grand Tour test driver and anonymous drivers such as the Stig. [26] A spokesperson for Amazon suggested to Jalopnik of a compromise between the explicitly named "the American" test driver portrayed by Skinner, and being unable to use a completely anonymous driver like on Top Gear . [25] During the first episode of the third series, Jeremy Clarkson referred to her simply as, "Abbie", suggesting that Amazon may have finally made a decision in this matter. During the fifth episode of the third season, Clarkson presents her at the beginning of a race by noting that the car "is being driven by The Grand Tour's racing driver, Abbie Eaton."
In April 2018, Eaton was interviewed by Red Bull about her work on The Grand Tour . [27]
Eaton lives in Northampton, England, along with her pets. Her father, Paul Eaton, is also a racing driver. [28]
She came out as a lesbian at the age of 17, [29] and is in a relationship with fellow British racecar driver Jessica Hawkins. [30] She is a Driver Ambassador for Racing Pride, an LGBT rights charity working in the motorsport industry to promote inclusivity across the sport, and amongst its technological and commercial partners. [31]
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | SAXMAX | Eaton Motorsport | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 176 | 4th |
2009 | Production Touring Car Championship | Thorney Motorsport | 18 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 173 | 1st |
2010 | Mazda MX-5 Championship | Eaton Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC |
2013 | Mazda MX-5 SuperCup | Eaton Motorsport | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | NC |
2014 | Mazda MX-5 Supercup | AE Racing | 18 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1448 | 1st |
2015 | UK GT Cup | Geoff Steel Racing | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 403 | 5th |
2016 | British GT Championship - GT4 | Ebor GT | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 106 | 4th |
2017 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup - Am | AF Corse | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 14th |
British GT Championship - GT4 | Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 21st | |
2019 | Super2 Series | Matt Stone Racing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 23rd |
Alpine Elf Europa Cup | Racing Technology | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
2019–20 | Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy | Jaguar VIP Car | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/C |
2021 | W Series | Écurie W | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 13th |
GT Cup Championship - GTO | JMH Automotive | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | NC | |
Britcar Endurance Championship - Praga | Team Praga Three Lions | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 131 | 8th | |
2022 | W Series | Scuderia W | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 13th |
2023 | Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe | Bonaldi Motorsport | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 7th |
2024 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain - Pro-Am | Rebelleo Motorsport |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class)
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Ebor GT | Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4 | GT4 | BRH 1 17 | ROC 1 15 | OUL 1 Ret | OUL 2 14 | SIL 1 21 | SPA 1 17 | SNE 1 18 | SNE 2 12 | DON 1 12 | 4th | 106 | |
2017 | Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing | Ginetta G55 GT4 | GT4 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | ROC 1 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SIL 1 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | BRH 1 | DON 1 12 | 21st | 12 |
2023 | Fox Motorsport | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | GT3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | SIL 1 | DON 1 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | ALG 1 | BRH 1 | DON 1 Ret | NC† | 0† |
† As Eaton was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.
(key) (Round results only)
Super2 Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Position | Points | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | Matt Stone Racing | Holden VF Commodore | ADE 18 | BAR | TOW | QLD | BAT | SAN | NEW | 23rd | 76 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Écurie W | RBR 15 | RBR 6 | SIL 9 | HUN 13 | SPA 10 | ZAN 6 | COA Ret | COA DNS | 13th | 19 |
2022 | Scuderia W | MIA Ret | MIA 13 | CAT 16 | SIL 7 | LEC Ret | HUN 8 | SIN 10 | 13th | 11 |
* Season still in progress.
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Driver[:] Abbie Eaton
Instructor Licence ... ARDS Grade A
... excellent tuition from my instructor, Abbie Eaton ...
Winner of the Pro-Am Cup and eighth overall went the way of Ahmad Al Harthy and Jonny Adam aboard an Aston Martin. In the Am category Abigail Eaton, Alex Demirdjian and Davide Rizzo took honours in a Ferrari 488.
Spolu s Alexem Demirdjianen a Davidem Rizzem se střídali za volantem Ferrari 488 GT3 slavné stáje AF Corse. Vyhráli třídu amatérů, celkově dojeli na 27. místě. Žádná žena v tomto vytrvalostním šampionátu ještě neslavila, ani nezískala pódium, to zároveň znamená její prozatím nejvýznamnější zářez do statistik mimo rodnou zemi.
AF Corse celebrated victory again in the Am Cup thanks to Abigail Eaton, Alex Demirdjian and Davide Rizzo in the #961 Ferrari 488 GT3.
Abbie Eaton, who like Clarkson is from Yorkshire ... she's from Hull. ... she appareaed[ sic ] on ITV's Drive in 2015, coaching rapper Professor Green in a variety of racing challenges over the course of five weeks - with both eventually winning the series.
new driver to take cars around the "Eboladrome" track - professional racing driver Abbie Eaton.
new "Stig"? ... "The American" has been sent packing ... the new test-driver taking on the Eboladrome is ... a woman and negotiates the circuit at an impressive clip.
May also went on ... after suggesting that The Grand Tour's new racing driver is female. "We tested loads of people and she was the fastest and the best and that's how it should be," he said. "To employ her for any other reason would be patronising."
Clarkson stated the team had tested out "former F1 drivers, rally drivers, stunt drivers, test drivers" until they found the fastest, before cutting to Eaton tearing up the track after a "And here she is..."
The Grand Tour finally broke out Eaton for episode two, ... set a time in the Mercedes-AMG GT R around the Eboladrome. ... Due to lots of legal mumbo jumbo, however, the trio couldn't create another faceless racer ... As a result, Eaton is named in the credits, but not the program itself.
"And here she is..." teased Clarkson before showing footage of Eaton tearing up the track.
clip then cuts to Eaton suited up in a car, saying: "Right, here we go."
gone to a woman for season two. ... Abbie Eaton, ... omission of her name was actually so glaring that it distracted ... only during the credits ... spokesperson speaking on behalf of Amazon speculated ... producers decided to downplay the role of the driver from a character to merely a driver ... couldn't use an anonymous driver like the other car show does, so this is what we ended up with.
The way she was introduced on the show – or rather, not introduced ... If The Grand Tour is still facing legal repercussions by featuring a Stig-like persona ... a woman filling the racing shoes would be about as anti-Stig as one can get. But that doesn't explain the no-intro introduction and constant "she" references during the timed lap. The whole thing was extremely awkward, and that's putting it mildly.
"father Paul, who is well placed to comment on his daughters progress having once finished fourth in the National Gearbox Karts Championship before competing in the popular BBC televised 1980s Eurocar Series.
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