Atech Reid GP had a weekend full of high expectations, promises and heartache during Rounds Thirteen and Fourteen of the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship at the World Series by Renault meeting at Silverstone.
The team's lead driver Tio Ellinas once again led the way for the Welsh outfit over the weekend, going fastest overall in Friday free practice, before having to settle for third and second in qualifying.
The first race saw the Cypriot, who sits second in the 2011 championship standings, take fourth place, though this was in fact third of the championship runners, giving him his eleventh podium of the season. The second race saw Tio drop one place to third at the start, but he was to drop to fifth at the finish as his car suffered mechanical issues.
Ellinas said: “It was good to get on the podium today after not such a good qualifying. The rest of the weekend did not go so well but we now look forward to the next one.”
Team-mate Oscar King put on a strong performance in the opening race, charging through the field to gain three places from where he started, taking seventh place. The rookie followed this up with a solid tenth place finish in race two.
Oscar commented: “After a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday I knew that I would be able to improve in the racing. I got a really good start and moved up 3 places. It was a really fun race. There was a lot of wheel to wheel racing which is always exciting.”
For Jack Hawksworth, a race winner earlier in the season at Croft, the weekend was to prove disappointing, with the talented racer only able to take twelfth in the first race after clutch problems, backing this up with a stronger showing in the second encounter, taking seventh.
Hawksworth reflected: “It has been a frustrating weekend for me but that's how it goes sometimes. We have had mixed results, mechanical problems and now we have to look forward to the next race in Rockingham”
The weekend proved a mixed bag for the their team-mate Dan Wells, who took tenth in the opening race before recovering from a first lap incident in race two to take eleventh.
Dan stated: “Today has been a big learning curve. After gaining 3 places off the start an on track altercation in race two saw me slip back to 11th.”
