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Home News Tio Ellinas heads morning practice at Spa-Francorchamps
NewsWorld Series Formula V8 3.5

Tio Ellinas heads morning practice at Spa-Francorchamps

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
written by Valentin Khorounzhiy
Photo: Lorenzo Charlez / AS Media

Photo: Lorenzo Charlez / AS Media

Strakka Racing’s Tio Ellinas was the early pacesetter of Formula Renault 3.5’s round three at Spa-Francorchamps, topping the morning practice session.

The Cypriot led his closest rivals by two tenths, with a total of 12 drivers fitting within a second of the benchmark over the two-minute lap.

Ellinas was up to first at the halfway point of the session, dethroning Oliver Rowland. Lotus driver Matthieu Vaxiviere then took the top spot coming into the final ten minutes, before Rowland reclaimed the benchmark.

But the Strakka driver responded with three minutes to go, setting the eventual best lap of the session.

Vaxiviere and rookie Sean Gelael shuffled Rowland to fourth in the dying seconds, before Draco’s Pietro Fantin claimed second at the checkered flag.

With Vaxiviere, Gelael and Rowland rounding out the top five in that order, DAMS duo of Nyck de Vries and Dean Stoneman followed in sixth and seventh.

Dutchman Meindert van Buuren took eighth, ahead of Tom Dillmann and Gustav Malja.

Session results
Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Tio Ellinas Strakka Racing 2:00.307 18
2 Pietro Fantin International Draco Racing 2:00.540 0.233 17
3 Matthieu Vaxiviere Lotus 2:00.590 0.283 18
4 Sean Gelael Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2:00.701 0.394 16
5 Oliver Rowland Fortec Motorsports 2:00.758 0.451 17
6 Nyck de Vries DAMS 2:00.772 0.465 17
7 Dean Stoneman DAMS 2:00.879 0.572 16
8 Meindert van Buuren Lotus 2:00.979 0.672 17
9 Tom Dillmann Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2:01.123 0.816 14
10 Gustav Malja Strakka Racing 2:01.228 0.921 17
11 Aurelien Panis Tech 1 Racing 2:01.235 0.928 17
12 Roberto Merhi Pons Racing 2:01.292 0.985 16
13 Alfonso Celis AVF 2:01.599 1.292 15
14 Beitske Visser AVF 2:01.692 1.385 18
15 Bruno Bonifacio International Draco Racing 2:02.002 1.695 16
16 Egor Orudzhev Arden Motorsport 2:02.087 1.780 17
17 Roy Nissany Tech 1 Racing 2:02.244 1.937 19
18 Nicholas Latifi Arden Motorsport 2:02.315 2.008 14
19 Patric Armand Pons Racing 2:03.423 3.116 17
20 Jazeman Jaafar Fortec Motorsports 2:04.115 3.808 5