Abbie Eaton recalls 'crushed vertebrae' in W Series crash which broke her back

Eaton, who is undergoing basic rehabilitation, added: "I've never experienced pain like it. Even now it's still painful if I want to take deep breaths. There's still some way to go.

"I think I've got to be realistic and not look too far ahead. I've just got to wait and see how my body heals. Hopefully the initial MRI scan was good, and if it heals as it is, then it should almost be like it never happened."

Eaton grew up as the daughter of a racing driver, and started karting at the age of 10, reaching national level at 15.

She made her adult racing debut in 2009 in the Production Touring Car Championship, where she won 15 of her 18 races, and went on to win the MX5 Super Cup Championship.

Eaton moved into British GT, racing a Maserati GT4, and came second in the Pro-Am Championship, and she has competed in the Blancpain Endurance GT3, where she won her class.

In 2018, she joined the cast of Amazon's The Grand Tour to become their test driver.

Initially one of W Series' critics, after watching the inaugural season, and seeing how it helped to develop the drivers' careers, she became a convert.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2BovbC%2B02ikqKyfp8Cxu9GtZm5xZmx%2BcoOS