Ellinas was amongst the pacesetters in post-season testing at Valencia and Jerez (above) - Photo Credit: GP3 Media Service
Marussia Manor Racing have completed their driver lineup for this year's GP3 Series with the signing of highly-rated Cypriot racer Tio Ellinas.
20-year-old Ellinas joins Dmitry Suranovich and Fabiano Machado at the team, and graduates from Formula Renault UK. There he finished third in the standings last year, and was fourth in British Formula Ford the year before. His move into single-seaters from karting came after he won the Grand Prix Shootout competition.
Ellinas tested for Marussia Manor at Valencia and Jerez at the end of last year, and was amongst the pacesetters despite his lack of experience in the category.
“I am very happy to join Marussia Manor Racing,” said Ellinas. “It's a winning team and I am really looking forward to building on the progress made during the two tests. I felt immediately at home in the team and now I can't wait to get back in the car again and race in my first GP3 season.”
Team principal Pete Sliwinski added: “We are delighted to have Tio as part of the team this season. He did a very good job at the tests at the end of last year, demonstrating that he has the potential to be fighting at the top. Now we have our complete 2012 driver line-up we can focus totally on getting ready for the first test before the start of another exciting season.”
