After a pre-season of preparation and acclimatising to the brand new Tatuus GB3-025, Abbi headed to Silverstone for her first weekend of the year in GB3.
The RODIN Cars Ambassador immediately hit the ground running, securing a fantastic 4th in the first Qualifying session of the season.
After a short interval, Abbi would head out for Qualifying 2 and set the 6th fastest laptime – despite a ‘Drag Reduction System’ (DRS) malfunction, which meant she completed the session without the use of the DRS during the second session!
Following a brilliant maiden Qualifying in GB3, Abbi headed out for Race 1 from P4 on the grid.
She made a good start from the outside of the second row, getting a great run through the exit of ‘Copse’ corner – challenging her teammate Gianmarco Pradel for the podium positions immediately into ‘Maggots’ and ‘Becketts’. Ultimately, she ended up having to back out, which allowed her teammate Alex Ninovic through - as Abbi latched onto the leading pack in P5.
Abbi kept ‘pulling’ clear of the chasing pack behind, securing herself comfortably in 5th position – whilst keeping in pursuit of her RODIN Motorsport teammates just ahead.
Over the course of the 25-minute race, Abbi managed her tyres well – coming back at her teammate Alex in the closing stages of the race.
She crossed the line in a fantastic fifth on her GB3 debut – a superb start to the season!
Race 2 would see Abbi start from P6 and made another strong getaway into Turn 1 – however ultimately, she would be boxed in with nowhere to go despite her good start.
Now in P7 – Abbi set her targets about reclaiming her lost position and pulled in the gap ahead.
As Abbi latched onto the back of P6, a questionable defensive move by her rival – prevented Abbi from completing the pass on the 'Wellington Straight'.
She kept the pressure of for the remainder of the race, always looming in DRS range – before a late race incident, saw the race finish under the Safety Car.
Abbi was promoted to P6 at the chequered flag, following a penalty for her rival – meaning she secured back-to-back Top 6 finishes.
Abbi would start the final race of the weekend from P5 – and hold her position throughout the opening corners.
As the pack reached the famous 'Silverstone Wing', Abbi resisted an attack from her rival and held P5 around the outside of ‘Club’ corner to retain her position.
However, as they entered the ‘Hamilton Straight’ her rear right wheel was tagged – spearing her into the wall, taking her out of the race from a strong fifth position.
It was a big hit into the wall, but luckily, she was ok – getting safely out of the car despite being pretty winded and rightfully frustrated, after being taken out from a trio-of-strong point scoring positions - through no fault of her own.
Abbi Pulling:
“Overall, it was a race weekend to be proud of! I was really happy with amazing pace in Q1 and Q2, even after technical issues. Especially in Q2 when the DRS did not work for the entire session...
To then carry this forward into the racing, showing strong pace with P5 and P6 finishes in the races was extremely satisfying!”
“Obviously I was very disappointed with Race 3 being cut short to a very quick end, especially when running in such a strong position…but I am looking ahead to Zandvoort, aiming to keep this momentum going."
"A huge thanks to RODIN Motorsport, RODIN Cars, F1 Academy and all my sponsors for their continued support – I couldn’t be here without you all!”
Despite the final race disappointment, it was a very positive first weekend in the GB3 Championship for Abbi - hitting the ground running strongly in 2025.
She leaves Silverstone finishing inside the Top 6 in every session she completed, creating a strong baseline to build on for the season ahead.
Abbi will next be in GB3 Championship action at Zandvoort on the 17th-18th May, one of her personal favourite circuits on the calendar – in just 3 weeks’ time.
Sign-up to the newsletter now to receive live updates for when Abbi is next on-track, and join us to watch the Live Stream racing on her website.
Photos by Jakob Ebrey Photography.
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