Tio Ellinas was victorious in the opening Formula Renault 3.5 Series race of the weekend at Silverstone, and The Checkered Flag caught up with the Cypriot racer after the event.
The Strakka Racing driver admitting to feeling good about the result, and was happy he was able to continue his Friday practice form where he topped the second free practice session into qualifying and the race.
“It was pretty good, Friday turned out to be pretty good for us, I was P1 in the free practice in the afternoon, and we managed to do the same in qualifying, and the issue was just to get off the line and win the race,” revealed Ellinas to The Checkered Flag.
“At the start I had some initial wheel spin, but then I backed off and tried to recover from there, and the car was pretty good towards the end because I was building up a gap every lap so it made me a bit more relaxed.
“The tap from Jaafar didn’t affect my car as it was on the rear of the car so it wasn’t too bad, for me I had no issues, and from there on when I went into the Becketts complex I was just trying to disappear from everyone.”
“I was just trying to do fast laps from the beginning, although I lost a bit towards the end because I think I pushed a lot on my tyres, so towards the end it was a bit crucial to recover and come through to win the race.”
Ellinas admitted he was happy to finally get the win after a 2014 season that was very difficult as he found himself on the outside looking in without a full time drive, but felt the relationship with Strakka Racing is prospering this year.
“Being on the top step felt pretty good, for me last year was a very difficult year,” said Ellinas. “I didn’t have any drive, I only did three races in GP2 and in those three races I was just invited to do so I really didn’t do anything last year, so for me this year it was finally time to get a win in and hopefully one of many.
“I’m really I’ve got the win here at the home race for Strakka, and it feels like home for me, as I’ve been racing here from [back in] Formula Renault UK [in 2011]. Our relationship is pretty good and I hope we can continue to deliver the results.
“We showed very good pace, we know now we can qualify up high, so why not do it again on Sunday.”
