Ellinas claims first win, Rowland increases overall lead

Tio Ellinas (Strakka Racing) put in the best lap of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series collective tests run at Silverstone. The Cypriot set the reference time of 1:41.494 to lead the way ahead of Red Bull Junior Team driver, Dean Stoneman (DAMS), the fastest rookie on Friday and Lotus F1 Team Junior protégé, Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus). Championship leader, Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) was fourth quickest. In the morning, Brazilian Pietro Fantin (International Draco Racing) was atop the time sheet.

Cypriot Ellinas then claimed his first pole position and victory in the category. It was also the first triumph for his team since Will Stevens at Jerez last year. Rowland and Vaxiviere completed the podium during the weekend’s first race. 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion and member of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme, Nyck de Vries (DAMS) finished fourth and was the highest-placed rookie on the day.

Racing on home turf at Silverstone, Rowland scored his fifth victory of the year in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series during the weekend’s second race. The only driver to have won at each round of the World Series by Renault in 2015, the Racing Steps Foundation protégé got the better of main rival Vaxiviere, who started from pole. 36 points now separate the two in the general classification. Pietro Fantin completed the podium, finishing ahead of the highest finishing rookie on Sunday, Stoneman.

Provisional general classification: 1. O. Rowland – 209 points, 2. M. Vaxiviere – 173, 3. D. Stoneman – 98, 3. J. Jaafar – 91, 5. N. de Vries – 83…