Abbie Eaton

Karting Eaton began kart racing at the age of ten SAXMAX 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. Dunlop SportMaxx Production Cup & British GT In 2009, Eaton moved into her first year of adult car racing in the Dunlop SportMaxx Production Cup, 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. Mazda MX-5 Cup In 2011, Eaton raced a rear wheel drive Mazda MX-5 Cup Mk3 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 due to funding issues. Mazda MX-5 Supercup , with a Mazdaspeed logo on her back 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. 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. GT Cup Eaton entered GT racing via the UK-based GT Cup Championship. She competed for part of the season in the GTB class in a BMW E46 M3 GTR run by Geoff Steel Racing. Eaton achieved one win, eight podium finishes, and three fastest laps. British GT motor racing circuit in 2016 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, and their team placed second in the Pro/Am Championship and fourth overall. Eaton made a one-off return to the series in 2023 finale, competing in GT3 for Fox Motorsport alongside John Seale. They retired from the race. Blancpain GT 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. making her the first female driver ever to win a class in the series. The car was number 961, driven by Eaton, Alex Demirdjian, and Davide Rizzo. Super2 Series In 2019, Eaton competed in the Super2 Series, an Australian Supercar championship, with Matt Stone Racing. However, she had to withdraw following the first round due to funding issues. W Series In 2021, Eaton joined W Series, driving for Écurie W. In the final round at the Circuit of the Americas, Eaton broke her back in an accident, requiring rehabilitation and a break from racing. She finished the season in 13th, with a best finish of 6th. She returned to race in the W Series in 2022, competing for Scuderia W. She once again finished 13th in the standings overall, with a best result of 7th. Lamborghini Super Trofeo Eaton competed in the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe season with her own team Rebelleo Motorsport, supported by Bonaldi Motorsport. With her teammate , she claimed multiple top-ten finishes, including a podium at the Nürburgring, to finish 7th overall. Porsche Carrera Cup In 2024, Eaton competed in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain with her own team, Rebelleo Motorsport. In the penultimate round at Silverstone, she became the first female driver in series history to start from pole and win a race. == Television career ==

Eaton appeared on ITV's Drive in 2015, coaching rapper Professor Green in various racing car challenges over a five-week period. 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. Eaton appears as the test driver from the second series onwards of the British motoring show The Grand Tour, replacing the previous first series test driver Mike Skinner. James May stated in November 2017 that a large number of drivers had been tested, and that "she was the fastest and the best". Eaton was later introduced to the show in the second episode of the second series, on 15 December 2017, when she was shown testing a green Mercedes-AMG GT R around the Eboladrome test track. In the Mercedes, Eaton says "Right, here we go" to herself, before starting the lap and completing the test drive silently. 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". 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. 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. Eaton also appeared on Series 2 of the British reality show ''Richard Hammond's Workshop'' as a professional motorsport instructor to teach Anthony Greenhouse (a mechanic at Hammond's workshop) how to be a racing driver. Eaton and Greenhouse competed in the Classic Chesire Challenge as teammates. After the season, Eaton was replaced by Hammond due to costs but stayed on as mentor and advisor for Greenhouse. ==Personal life==

Eaton lives in Northampton, England. Her father, Paul Eaton, is also a racing driver. She came out as a lesbian at the age of 17, and was previously in a relationship with fellow British racing driver Jessica Hawkins. Eaton 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. ==Racing record==

Career summary Complete British GT Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class) † As Eaton was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points. Complete Super2 Series results (key) (Round results only) Complete W Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) • Season still in progress. ==References==