Cypriot Tios Ellinas capped a sensational weekend with victory in Round 12 of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain, making it two wins from two for the weekend at Rockingham. The JTR driver produced another perfect display, leading from lights to flag and recording the fastest lap of the race in the process.
It was Ellinas who started on pole for the race, joined on the front row by Scott Pye. Antti Buri and Scott Malvern made up row two, with Dan De Zille and Daniel Cammish on row three.
As the lights went out, Ellinas didn't make the best of starts, with Pye right up alongside him as they headed to Deene for the first time. Ellinas was able to hold on to his lead though as they headed around the first lap. The man on the move on lap one was Jake Cook, the youngster moving up from tenth on the grid to seventh by the end of the lap.
Behind Ellinas and Pye, Buri slotted into third, while their was an early change for position for fourth, with 2009 Scholarship class champion Cammish getting past Malvern on lap three. Further back, the impressive Cook was able to gain another position on lap four, sneaking past Josh Hill for sixth.
Back at the front and no matter how hard he tried, Ellinas wasn't able to shake off the attentions of Pye during the opening exchanges, with the two rarely separated by move than a couple of tenths of a second. But as the race reached half distance, Ellinas was able to find some extra pace and began to start edging clear. This was helped by Pye beginning to be put under pressure from Buri behind. The Enigma Motorsport driver made his move on lap eleven, sliding past on the inside at Turn One.
This battle had allowed Ellinas to pull away at the front, crossing the finishing line with a five second winning margin. Buri was second, holding off pressure on the last lap from Pye in third, causing a repeat of the podium from the weekend's earlier round. Cammish came home fourth, five seconds clear of championship leader Malvern in fifth. Cook finished sixth, followed by Hill, James Tucker and Danish driver Emil Bernstorff. The top ten was completed by Scholarship class winner Tristan Mingay, after he overtook 2006 champion Nathan Freke for the position on the last lap.
Next up for the series is Silverstone on the 17th/18th August for Rounds 13 and 14. Despite a slightly disappointing weekend, Malvern's lead in the championship has hardly been dented; with the Cliff Dempsey Racing driver still 37 points clear of Pye, with Buri's two second places moving him up to third in the standings. In the Scholarship class, two class wins moves Mingay 28 points clear of closest challenger Luke Williams
Provisional championship placings after Round 12
1 Malvern 290 points
2 Pye 253
3 Buri 228
4 Cammish 216
5 Ellinas 200
6 Hill 188
Scholarship class
1 Mingay 233
2 Williams 205
3 Dani Domit 168