Abbie Eaton

Abigail Eaton (born 2 January 1992) is an English racing driver who most recently competed in the Classic Chesire Challenge for Smallest Cog Racing in a MGB GT. She is also instructor and performance coach from the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. She is best known for starring as the test driver for the second and third series of The Grand Tour, an Amazon Prime Video-exclusive motoring series.

Racing career

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

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

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 sixth.

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 seventh.

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 seventh 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.

Fun Cup Endurance Championship In 2026, Abbie teamed up with George Grant to race with Team Clapham North in the Fun Cup Endurance Championship in the UK. Abbie made an instant impact fighting for the lead from 3rd on the random grid draw in the first stint of the opening race at Oulton Park, followed by leading at Snetterton (again from 3rd on the grid). An incredible drive from 24th to 4th in her opening stint in Race 1 at Anglesey preceded her and the team's first top ten finish with 10th. before going one better in Race 2 at Donington Park with 9th. At the time of writing, Abbie, George and Team Clapham North are currently 11th in the points standings.

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.

Eaton 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 Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2008 SAXMAX Eaton Motorsport 12 0 0 2 3 176 4th 2009 Dunlop SportMaxx Production Cup - Class B 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 18 5 2 4 7 1448 1st 2015 GT Cup Championship 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 British GT Championship - GT3 Fox Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain - Pro-Am Rebelleo Motorsport 16 2 1 1 2 55 6th

Complete British GT Championship results (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 BRH1 ROC1 OUL1 OUL2 SIL1 SPA1 SNE1 SNE2 DON1 4th 106 2017 Autoaid/RCIB Insurance Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 GT4 OUL1 OUL2 ROC1 SNE1 SNE2 SIL1 SPA1 SPA2 BRH1 DON1 21st 12 2023 Fox Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 GT3 OUL1 OUL2 SIL1 DON1 SNE1 SNE2 ALG1 BRH1 DON1 NC† 0† † As Eaton was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.

Complete Super2 Series results (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 ADE18 BAR TOW QLD BAT SAN NEW 23rd 76

Complete W Series results (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 RBR SIL HUN SPA ZAN COA COA 13th 19 2022 Scuderia W MIA MIA CAT SIL LEC HUN SIN 13th 11 Season still in progress.