16-year old British racer Abbi Pulling has been signed by JHR Developments team for the upcoming British F4 championship.
16-year old British racer Abbi Pulling has been signed by race-winning JHR Developments team for the upcoming British F4 campaign.
A two-times karting champion, Pulling makes her formula racing debut after contesting seasons in the competitive Ginetta Junior and Ginetta GT5 Challenge championships, notorious training grounds for many young talents in their first steps in British motorsport.
Abbi became the first driver to win back-to-back British karting titles, before venturing into car racing. She now focuses her efforts on the British Formula 4 Championship, as she is the first driver to be confirmed for JHR Developments in 2020. The young driver completed an assessment day at Silverstone last November, where she got a taste of the F4 machinery with JHR and had the opportunity to follow up with simulator testing at the team's facility. She also tested in Almeria, Spain.
“I’m really excited to drive with JHR Developments" - she commented. “It’s been challenging to learn the car, but we’ve worked hard and done lots of preparation on JHR’s simulator so it’s starting to go well."
“We are very happy to have Abbi driving with us this year." - said Steven Hunter, Team Manager at JHR. "She was very impressive during the Scholarship Assessment Day at Silverstone in difficult conditions last year and has continued to show her speed during winter testing as well as on our simulator."
Pulling had the chance to familiarize with the single-seater driving style despite some rainy test sessions: "Karting knowledge helps because the driving styles are similar, particularly in the wet. It is about being smooth and driving on your fingertips, though the car is a lot more physical than the Ginetta." - explained the young driver.
“I’m putting everything into this year. I want to prove to myself that I can succeed at this level. I proved it to myself in karting and I know I can do it in cars too, it is just about building on my knowledge to have the speed on track, but I also want to make sure I keep having fun as well.”
The 2020 season will start in March at Donington Park, as the series will remain on the supporting schedule of the British Touring Car Championship. Pulling joins other female racer Reema Juffali on the grid.
2020 British F4 Full Calendar:
28/29 March - Donington Park, UK
11/12 April - Brands Hatch (Indy), UK
25/26 April - Silverstone (National), UK
16/17 May - Thruxton, UK
13/14 June - Oulton Park, UK
25/26 July - Snetterton, UK
15/16 August - Croft, UK
29/30 August - Knockhill, UK
26/27 September - Silverstone (International), UK
10/11 October - Brands Hatch (GP), UK
In Abbi's words:
"I’m putting everything into this year. I want to prove to myself that I can succeed at this level."
Ph Credits: Jacob Ebrey - JEP