By Andreas Vou
BUDDING racing driver Tio Ellinas missed out on a promising GP2 race in Monaco over the weekend when a careless driver crashed into his car on Saturday and dashed the Cypriot’s chances of going one up in the championship.
Following on from his GP2 series debut in Catalonia two weeks ago, Tio was not disappointed as he was handed another chance to race in the series over the weekend, once again left to rely on private funding following another year of neglect from the national sporting body and the government.
Thankfully, MP Motorsport was alert to the 22-year-old’s capabilities and has invested in his potential as he competes on a higher stage following on from his fourth place finish in last year’s GP3 series standings.
Unfortunately, despite managing a tenth place finish in Friday’s race, Ellinas suffered disappointment on Saturday after some careless driving from Artem Markelov on the fourth turn of the second race.
The Russian driver, seemingly unaware of the Cypriot’s whereabouts, collided with Ellinas as he attempted to overtake Markelov on the chaotic start of the Monaco circuit, hampering his chances of achieving a better position.
As a result, the front wing of the Larnaca native’s vehicle broke as well as causing damage to one of the tires which saw him slip down to last place leading him to finish 22nd in the final standings.
Nevertheless, while things did not go Ellinas’ way this time around, positives can still be taken from the experience in Monaco. Tio once again showed his personal capabilities after achieving the quickest lap of the second race.
Ellinas himself admitted that, despite not having the best of weekends, there was a lot to be happy about in a brief announcement to his supporters via social media.
“(I) had a great time at Monaco. Two races in a row doing fastest lap says a lot. Hopefully next time we will have the car to push from the beginning to win. Great feeling kissing the wall with 200 kmh.”
Monaco’s Stephane Richelmi won Saturday’s GP2 sprint race in his homeland, leading from start to finish in the second race of the weekend. The win was Richelmi’s first of the GP2 series and made it two on the bounce for the DAMS team after Jolyon Palmer claimed Friday’s feature race.
