As the rain fell at Donington Park during Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Tio was quickly up to speed and topped the times before adding to his advantage in the closing stages, taking pole by an impressive 0.767s.
Despite getting away well at the start of the race, Ellinas was passed by Lewis Plato on the opening lap and settled into second place as he understood the grip levels on a damp, but drying track. He made his move to take the lead on lap four and quickly opened up a gap of 2.4 seconds which Dino Zamparelli whittled down. As the 23-lap race passed mid-distance, the lead was down below one second with neither driver making an error as they continued to lap quickly and pass backmarkers.
Through it all Ellinas kept a calm head and refused to crack under the pressure, eking out small advantages over the opening part of the circuit and bringing the car home for a well-deserved first victory in the series. “It was a good day from qualifying onwards and a good race,” said Ellinas. “We knew we had the pace to be up there. We had to maximise our potential today and we did.
“It’s my first win in the Carrera Cup so I’m delighted to finish the day like that. I want to dedicate the win to the team for all their hard work and I’m sure we’re going to keep on the same path and continue like this for the rest of the season.”
It wasn’t just a hard-earned victory on track, as DVF Racing’s David Fairbrother found it equally difficult to watch on the sidelines. “It’s the hardest race I’ve ever had, and I wasn’t in the car!” said Fairbrother. “I can’t wait until Monza when I can get back behind the wheel. What can you say about Tio? The kid drove the wheels off it. We’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Team Manager at Slidesports, Mark Jenkins, wanted to ensure attention was also directed to the entire team behind the victory. “It’s a team effort,” said Jenkins. “We’ve had a massive backing from our sponsors and investors and the belief hasn’t waned. The car set-up was geared to a wet race so to be fair to Tio he did really well to hang on. Dino’s car came on in the middle of the race but Tio’s driving skill and ability kept him away. It’s a great team effort because even the people you don’t see holding a spanner or driving the car have worked for this brilliant success.”
In the sister Lordes-branded Porsche, Richard Hawken enjoyed a busy race after his podium in the Am category at Brands Hatch, making up five places on the opening lap. Unfortunately gear selection problems plagued him at a critical part of the circuit and he lost positions, with the same ailment befalling him in the closing stages.
“It was a story of success and gearshift problems,” said Hawken. “I got a blistering start and was mixing with the Pro-Ams, but the car got stuck in fifth gear into the Esses so I ran wide through the gravel and lost places. I hacked my way back to fourth and battled with Peter Kyle-Henney through the race and again it wouldn’t go into third at Redgate and I ended up spinning, but I still enjoyed the race and have a massive smile on my face.”
The 40-minute race two takes place tomorrow at 13:00 and will be broadcast live on ITV4 and streamed on the ITV Hub.
