From pole to the chequered flag, Tio Ellinas was completely untouchable in the first race of the weekend at Silverstone. The Strakka Racing driver was over 14 seconds ahead at the front at one point, utterly dominating the remainder of the field. Championship leader Oliver Rowland fought his way to second, while Matthieu Vaxivière held on to claim the final step on the podium. Nyck De Vries kept out of trouble to bring his DAMS machine home in 4th, claiming the rookie win as well.
While the Cypriot driver held his lead from the get go, there was plenty of drama and dicing behind him. Nick Yelloly was into the pits immediately, having had his brakes fail on him. Also struggling was Sean Geleal, who spent the race watching from the pit wall, and Aurélien Panis. Dean Stoneman suffered from a puncture during the first tour of the track, forcing him to bring his DAMS into the pit with a completely decimated tyre.
The main fight throughout the race was between the drivers in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th, despite those occupying those places switching almost frequently. For Jazeman Jaafar, a stunning start rocketing up to 2nd was impossible to hold, with the Malay driver falling back to finish 10th. Rowland, Vaxivière were joined in their fight for the second and third steps on the podium by Dillmann – who got himself into P2 but had a moment a Becketts and fell back into the lower clutches of the points – Malja, Orudzhev and De Vries.
A yellow flag was brought out by Bonifacio spinning off into the gravel, and incident in which Nissany and Bonifacio have been investigated after the race. Beitske Visser picked up a puncture with just a few laps remaining, becoming the last non classified driver.
Tio Ellinas: “The past two weeks have been difficult as I lost my grandfather. I dedicate this win to him. The weekend started well, but we have struggled since the start of the year to convert our speed in practice into podiums. The start was a bit tricky and I felt a little bit of contact with Jazeman, but I then was able to create a gap. This victory is good for the team and me. I hope to continue the season like this and join the top three as Oliver and Matthieu are very strong.”
Oliver Rowland: “The start was a bit difficult and I think I was lucky to finish the opening lap. Then I had to defend, attack and find a place in each corner. And then I found an opening on Tom and Jazeman and this let me get through, although I had to attack as much as possible to keep Matthieu at distance.”
Matthieu Vaxiviere: “Tio did a perfect job at the start. For my part, it wasn’t really good, I tried to catch up to Oliver as quickly as possible, but then we were in a group with Tom, Oliver and Jazeman. It was a nice fight between us. I particularly liked the battle with Oliver, even though I lost. I will have another chance tomorrow.” (http://media.renaultsport.com/A-maiden-but-dominating-win-for-Ellinas.html?lang=en)
1 (25) 11 Tio ELLINAS CYP STRAKKA RACING
2 (18) 4 Oliver ROWLAND GBR FORTEC MOTORSPORTS
3 (15) 9 Matthieu VAXIVIERE FRA LOTUS
4 (12) 1 Nyck DE VRIES NED DAMS
5 (10) 26 Tom DILLMANN FRA JAGONYA AYAM WITH CARLIN
6 (8) 12 Gustav MALJA SWE STRAKKA RACING
7 (6) 6 Egor ORUDZHEV RUS ARDEN MOTORSPORT
8 (4) 5 Nicholas LATIFI CAN ARDEN MOTORSPORT
9 (2) 17 Roy NISSANY ISR TECH 1 RACING
10 (1) 3 Jazeman JAAFAR MAS FORTEC MOTORSPORTS
11 19 Pietro FANTIN BRA INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING
12 40 William BRATT GBR PONS RACING
13 15 Alfonso CELIS Jr MEX AVF
14 10 Nicholas YELLOLY GBR LOTUS
