Abbie Eaton Talks The Eboladrome And Her Racing Future In First Interview!
The Grand Tour's resident racer reveals all
Abbie Eaton, who has been The Grand Tour's test driver since the start of Season 2, had until very recently not spoken publicly about her experience - until now. Speaking to Red Bull, Abbie reveals all about how she initially thought her Grand Tour recruitment was a wind-up, what the Eboladrome is like to drive, her favourite cars to race and what she has lined up for her racing career.
JOINING THE GRAND TOUR
Abbie reveals that her Grand Tour recruitment essentially consisted of an email inviting her to 'come down to the track and do some filming'. Although she thought that this was an elaborate joke to start with (as most people probably would) reality soon came crashing into view as she headed to Swindon the very next week to 'meet the team' and begin her Grand Tour journey.
THE EBOLADROME
do it right and it feels fantastic!
Abbie describes The Grand Tour's test track as 'challenging but rewarding'. She explains that it is a thrilling track which demands respect but rewards vigilant and diligent drivers richly. She notes that most of the corners are 'blind and off-camber, meaning you enter them not knowing where the exit is'. She also reports that, on multiple occasions, rogue wildlife scampering across the track has got in the way of filming!
Abbie says that poor British weather conditions 'inevitably' cause some mistakes on the track, which can become very dangerous very quickly; one such incident saw her end up sideways in a Mercedes AMG GT R on the crest on the left kink on the narrow run down to Substation!
there's no run-off area
Abbie reports that her favourite part of the track is the blind right-handed corner on the Isn't Straight. As well as being the fastest part of the track, the crest in the middle and 'solid piece of Armco' (crash barrier) at the tail end creates 'a recipe for a big adrenaline hit'. She continues: 'There's no run-off area at the track either - just an abundance of trees to catch you if you mess up!'
BEST AND WORST CARS
Abbie clearly delights in the wide range of top-end cars she has the opportunity to drive on The Grand Tour. She picks out the Lamborghini Huracán Performante, with its four-wheel-drive and 631 brake horsepower, and the Ford GT, with its 'fantastic' handling and 'ridiculously good' carbon-ceramic brakes as her favourites. She confesses that her least favourite car to drive was the VW Up! GTI, because a 'nippy city' car like that isn't really suited to a hardcore track like the Eboladrome.
RACING CAREER
Abbie revels in the increased attention and raised profile she has gained from working on The Grand Tour, but is also very mature and selective about which drive offers she accepts and the direction in which she steers her racing career. She says she is 'looking towards GT3 drives in America or Europe and possibly the Dubai 12hr in January 2019'.
it's a pretty special car to drive
She then goes on to declare that her 'ultimate championsip to race in' would be Australian Supercars. Announcing that she has 'always loved watching them', she predicts that 'racing in something like that would push you to the absolute limit, and competing with the very best drivers would ultimately bring you on to be one of the best too'.
Finally, Abbie reminds us that she is still competing in 'selected GT races throughout 2018' and is also completing 'a full season in the Super Touring Car Championship in the GA6 Invitation class driving a 1983 Peter Brock replica Holden VH Commodore in Malboro livery'. She describes it as 'a pretty special car to drive' and says that she is 'very excited to be involved with racing one of the only 80s Aussie touring cars in the UK'.
The full interview is available to read on the Red Bull website. Images credited to PA, Amazon Prime Video and Abbie Eaton. Amazon Prime members can watch Seasons 1 and 2 of The Grand Tour at PrimeVideo.com/GT. Special thanks to Stephen McKnight.
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Comments (31)
100x better than 'the American'
She's awesome. And drives like an F1 driver would.
So much better than the predecessor. Pandering to Americans is ruining the show in general, bring back the British humour I say!
Looking forward to how she and the segment develop
1000x better than the American, she’s doing a great job!
It would be great to hear an in-car commentary from Abbie as she does her laps, so we get a first hand drivers perspective.
(Season 2 was tons better than season 1, can’t wait for season 3)
shes definitely much better! Long may she remain!