Abbie Eaton Tells How She Ended Up On The Grand Tour
Not everyone is a fan of The Grand Tour’s new driver, Abbie Eaton, but I would be willing to bet that the vast majority prefer her to The American. Personally, I had no problem with her whatsoever and thought she was an absolute demon on the track. She’s been an excellent addition to the show.
But how did the British GT racer end up on the show? Abbie herself tells all in an interview with Red Bull!
Hope you're all enjoying the new series of @TheGrandTour. I'm loving the new changes they've made… pic.twitter.com/HoTpYTUMTJ
— Abbie Eaton (@AbbieEaton44) December 15, 2017
On how the opportunity to be on The Grand Tour came about:
I initially received an email asking me to come down to the track and do some filming. If I’m honest, I thought it was a bit of a wind up when I first read the email, but it soon became apparent that it was all legit when I was en route to Swindon the next week to meet the team.
How does she feel about the Eboldrome?
The Eboladrome is a challenging but rewarding track – you really have to respect it, as there are many areas that can easily bite you. The majority of the corners are blind and off-camber, meaning you enter them not knowing where the exit is – or whether there’s a deer or pheasant stood in the middle of the road waiting to greet the bonnet!
Has she had any close calls?
The track is pretty tricky, so it inevitably brings out a few mistakes while you’re getting to grips with each car…I had a bit of a moment in the Mercedes-AMG GT R. I was doing a couple of runs to get the tyre temperatures up before the timed lap, and on the narrow run down to Substation, there’s a crest on the left kink which caused the rear of the car to step out a little – and that’s not a place on the track where you want to be sideways!
My favourite corner has to be the blind right-hander of the Isn’t Straight section of the track. It’s the fastest part on the track and, coupled with a crest in the middle of the corner and a solid piece of Armco on the exit, it’s a recipe for a big adrenaline hit when you’re on the limit.
What’s the worst car she has driven on the track?
I’d say my least favourite car to drive was the Volkswagen up! GTI – not because it wasn’t fun to drive, because it was, but it’s more suited to nippy city driving or a really tight twisty track, which the Eboladrome is not.
SOURCE:
I would like to hear more opinions from Miss Eaton on the cars she drives. Perhaps an “After the Lap” summary.