Abbi headed to Zandvoort for rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the 2024 ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA.
After dry conditions greeted them for testing – Abbi showed immediate pace, as the RODIN Motorsport Alpine Academy driver finished P4 and P1 in the two respective practice sessions.
The heavens opened on Friday and a disrupted qualifying session led to a number of drivers being caught out and mixed-up grids for the rounds. After the hectic session, Abbi would line up in P8, P1 and P12 for the three races.
Race 1 of the weekend took place in treacherous conditions as the rain continued to fall on the Dutch circuit. When the lights went out, Abbi was quick to avoid the slow starting Reza Seewooruthun off the line but bogged down and was P13 at the end of lap 1.
As everyone then settled, Abbi pushed on moving up three places into P10 on lap 3 and set after the group in front. By lap 4 she was in P9 with 3 seconds to the group of Kai Daryanani, Yuanpu Cui and James Higgins in front. As the laps passed, Abbi chipped away at the gap, taking a few tenths out of their advantage each lap. The chequered flag came out after 20 minutes of racing, halting Abbi’s charge as she crossed the line in P9.
There was an attempted start for Race 2 as the lights went out with Abbi on pole, but confusion ensued as the start lights quickly came back on resulting in a number of cars stopping. Contact amongst several cars followed and the race was immediately red flagged. It was then rescheduled to take place on Sunday morning.
Sunday’s weather was much improved with Abbi lining up on pole. When the lights went out, Abbi had to settle for P2, slotting in behind her rapid starting Rodin Motorsport teammate, Alex Ninovic, as they headed into turn 1. From then on, it was relatively smooth sailing in the early stages, as she followed closely behind Ninovic, dropping Ella Lloyd and Deagan Fairclough behind. With 5 minutes of the 20 minutes racing remaining, Fairclough began to apply some pressure, but Abbi kept her head and was unfazed, never giving Fairclough a chance to pass.
After 20 minutes, the chequered flag brought the race to an end with Abbi claiming P2, adding to her podium tally in British F4.
A good start for the final race of the weekend saw Abbi come out of turn 1 in P10, hot on the heels of Ernesto Rivera and the leading pack.
An early Safety Car was called following a multiple car shunt at the high-speed turn 4, before the red flag was then shown due to the extent of the clear-up required.
The race resumed under the safety car with Abbi pushing ahead for further ground in the points paying positions.
After the opening lap jostling, Abbi got her head down and got a great run out of the final corner and a slipstreamed into P8 heading into Turn 1. However, an overly enthusiastic Bart Harrison hit the read of her car, resulting in a puncture. Abbi managed to get the car back to the pitlane but had to unfortunately retire the car.
Abbi Pulling:
“Bit of a disappointing weekend here at Zandvoort there was so much potential and we had so much pace throughout testing and in the dry. It was a shame we couldn't maximise qualifying - getting traffic on my best laps after the red flag put us out of position for the races. Especially Race 1 which was incredibly wet in the pack - but we came away still scoring some valuable points"
"I started on the front row in Race 2, so I was looking to take some trophies home from the race - but I am a little bit disappointed with P2.
I obviously wanted to win and I think I had the pace and was capable of it - but I just struggled a little bit more than expected with the colder conditions early in the morning."
"Race 3 I managed to make up some good ground and just got myself into P7 from P12 on the grid, but I got rear-ended by the car behind into into turn 1 and got a puncture - damaged the car and that was race over sadly."
"Obviously we still got a podium this weekend in Race 2 - but I want to be fighting for this in the main races. It is a case of maximising Qualifying next time and hope for some more luck!"
"Still, a huge thank you to RODIN Motorsport and RODIN Cars for their continued effort this, as well as to the Alpine Academy and all my partners"
"I am looking forward to being back here in a months time with F1 Academy with the aim to build on the strong pace we showed all weekend!"
A mixed weekend that showed strong pace from Abbi, but some poor luck and she currently sits P6 in the championship standings.
The 2024 ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA returns at Knockhill on the 10th-11th of August, before Abbi heads to Zandvoort again for the next round of F1 Academy.
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