Hunter Abbott happy to be “mixing it with the big boys”

Rob Austin Racing’s Hunter Abbott declared himself happy to be “mixing it with the big boys” after one of his strongest days of the season at Rockingham on Sunday.

The former British GT racer recovered well from a loss of drive in qualifying which left him marooned at the tail of the 31-car field, scything past 17 cars in the first race en route to 14th place.

He better this by four in race two, and was running well inside the top 10 on the opening lap of the finale, before heavy contact from Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden put both cars out of the race.

Abbott said progress was down to making small improvements in a number of areas, including gaining experience driving a turbo car for the first time.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Abbott said: “The grid is very competitive – there’s no two ways about it. I think with that, you’ve got a number of guys who have been doing it for a number of years as well.

“You need the final little bits as a driver in terms of setup, working the tyres, and working a turbo car. I’ve never worked with a turbo car, and you drive it differently to a normally aspirated car. I didn’t know that, so I am gradually getting used to that side of things, and how to use the throttle differently so you get the most boost.

“We are making progress, and hopefully we will have a good run in the last few races as well. We’re in the mix with the big boys now, which is where we want to be.”

The racing in Corby provided plenty of drama for Abbott, on a day where he and team-mate Rob Austin’s Audi A4s proved to be a competitive package.

He said: “Overnight we rolled the dice a bit with setup. We wanted to try something a bit different, and after qualifying we didn’t have much to lose, so it was a good time to do it.

“Race one I was 31st on the grid, and I just thought I’d see what I can do. The only bumps I had were on the back – I had a couple of taps from Foster and Newsham, but to get through to 14th and make up 17 places, I was very happy with that.

“In race two, we were 14th on the grid and came through to 10th. To be honest, on the first lap I put myself in the wrong position and hung myself out a bit. So I might have been able to do one place or two places better.

“Race three was looking pretty good up until going into turn five. I think I may have got up to seventh or eighth, and I went to block Shedden on the way into the double left. The next thing I felt was a massive hit in the back, and that spun me round.”