KARTING: Clean sweep for Abbi
Abbi Pulling opened up a championship lead with a clean sweep in the Super One Series at Shenington.
The 15-year-old from Gosberton had another dominant performance with four wins out of four.
She said: “Final one was very strange with two red flags - thankfully no serious injuries and, although the race was shortened, a win is a win!
"I had a good start from pole position in the grand final and went into the lead.
"There was quite a battle behind apparently but I managed to stretch a gap to the chequered flag for a clean sweep and win four of the weekend.
"With the championship rivals all having poor weekends, it has opened up a good lead.”
Abbi is just three rounds away from making history by becoming the first karting driver ever to retain a Super One TKM title, a feat that even eluded Formula One world champion Jenson Button who took the Super One TKM crown in 1992.
To retain her title, Abbi will have to drive consistently at at Rissington, in the Cotswolds, over the August Bank Holiday weekend, followed by the final two rounds at GYG, North Wales, in early September, and PFI, near Grantham, at the end of the same month."
Abbi said: "The season has been quite calm so far, even though it's not been easy because two of the rookie drivers have been very fast and one of last year's rivals has been more consistent this season than last.
"I was dominant in round one at Larkhall, Scotland, then at Clay Pigeon in Dorset, I was consistent throughout the weekend, picking up as many points as possible before finishing second in the grand final.
"But in round three at Rowrah, Cumbria, I had a mechanical difficulty in one of the heats which was a bit of a setback.
"Yet still, I managed to get on the podium in the grand final, driving in conditions that went from dry to wet and back again.
"In the last round at Shenington, I played my cards right over the whole weekend, while everyone else had a bit of difficulty.
"I had a bit of luck on my side as well which I need, even more so this season because everyone is chasing as the driver with number one on their kart.
"The ideal for me now is to win all the remaining three rounds at Rissington, GYG and PFI at the end of September."
Abbi is taking a break from Super 1 TKM action this weekend when she will compete instead at the annual TKM Festival at Kimbolton where she hopes to successfully defend her TKM Junior ‘O’ plate and Maxxis TKM Festival Elite titles.
She said: "The TKM Festival is more of a social occasion, not so much about racing, where mums and dads can have barbecues and people come to stay in their motor homes, caravans or nearby hotels for the weekend.
"But the build-up to the races is very much like in Formula One and it's really competitive, with probably the biggest grids of the karting season.
"It's like having two completely separate race meetings in one day, the British Open Championship for national A-licence holders who are more experienced and the Novice Championships which we do just for fun.
"There's very little downtime at the festival because you have two qualifying session and then four heats on the Saturday, followed by two more heats and four finals on the Sunday.
"You need both mental and physical race fitness as it's quite intense, but it's a very social event as well."
British Women Racing Drivers Club chair Lorraine Gathercole added: "Abbi continues to impress.
"Her maturity and determination are way beyond her years, and her natural talent shines through time and again.
"However, like so many young racing drivers, Abbi needs financial support to enable her journey to the top levels to continue, and with these continuing excellent results goes to demonstrate her talent to potential sponsors and partners."
