Atech Reid GP's Tio Ellinas Took Two Podiums At Rockingham - Credit: Chris Gurton Photography
Atech Reid GP enjoyed a competitive weekend in Rounds Fifteen and Sixteen of the CERTINA Formula Renault UK 2.0 Championship at Rockingham, with lead driver Tio Ellinas returning to form to take two podium finishes, with Dan Wells also starring for the Welsh outfit.
Cypriot Ellinas had a tough weekend by his standard last time out at Silverstone, but made up for it at Rockingham with two third place finishes, allowing him to close up in the championship battle after rival Alex Lynn could only finish tenth in the opener.
Tio said: “It was good to finish the weekend with two podiums. I really wanted to push for the wins but, in both races the car was a bit loose and I couldn't keep up in the beginning. And then the two drivers in front were hitting the braking points perfectly and didn't make a mistake so we were always a little behind unable to make a clean move. We now look forward to Brands Hatch and move on.”
For Wells, the weekend finally delivered the kind of performance he's been threatening all season. The Salisbury-based racer stunned his rivals with a fourth place in qualifying, then backed it up with a strong race performance to take a seasons best finish of fourth. Race two ended up less productive, with several on track incidents hampering his progress, leaving him tenth.
Wells commented: “I am really pleased to have held on to finish fourth in race one. I was keeping up with Tio and was really pushing to make a move on him in the first race. It was great to have started at the race at the front and finish the race at the front. The second race was not a strong point and I just couldn't get passed people, it was a bit manic.”
Atech's other racewinner in 2011 Jack Hawksworth was an early casualty in the action packed first race, contact with Josh Hill ending his race prematurely, though the Yorkshireman fought back to take fourth place in race two.
Hawksworth stated: “Unfortunately the gap closed sooner than I had anticipated. I was clearly up the inside of Josh. I am not convinced he saw me but I was forced onto the grass and with no grip and nowhere to go we made contact, which was frustrating and ended both our races in the first lap. Race two was much better. It is refreshing to end the race weekend on a positive note and to go away with some points on the board!”
The team's final driver Oscar King got up to eighth early in race one, before dropping to tenth and then fighting back to take eighth at the finish. In race two, King joined Hawksworth in getting tangled up with Hill, contact between the two ending King's race.
Oscar said: “Race one could have been better because I set the third fastest lap and got passed Lynn, but I just couldn't pull it all together. The car didn't feel great after the restart and then it was downhill from there. It was really devastating to DNF race 2 after Josh made contact with the rear of the car. There is substantial damage to the rear wing and the side of the car, which isn't great. Its never fun to be hit from the rear because you just become a passenger, but what can you do?”
