Ellinas holds off Zamparelli for race one win

Slidesports Engineering's Tio Ellinas has taken his first Porsche Carrera Cup GB victory of the season after holding off a resurgent Dino Zamparelli at Donington Park.

Ellinas started the race from pole position but was forced to regain the lead early on after dropping behind JTR's Lewis Plato on the second lap of the race.

However, the Slidesports Engineering driver wasted no time in reclaiming the ascendency and moved his 911 GT3 Cup car back past Plato just a lap later.

Ellinas then proceeded to scamper away at the front ahead of Plato, who was coming under increasing pressure from Zamparelli in third.

Critically, Zamparelli managed to demote Plato a place further by the fifth lap of the race and subsequently began to hunt down the race leader at a rapid rate of knots.

Despite assembling a near four-second lead by lap seven, Ellinas' lead began to look vulnerable as Zamparelli closed right to the rear of the Slidesports Engineering Porsche.

Zamparelli threatened to snatch the lead on a number of ocassions at Redgate but, Ellinas, critically, stretched his lead as the pair waded through the backmarkers.

Ellinas eventually held on by 0.3s ahead of Zamparelli, while Dan Harper completed the podium in third, almost 20 seconds adrift of the top-two.

A further five-seconds off the rostrum, Tom Wrigley was fourth for JTR, while Plato dropped down to fifth despite leading during the early stages.

Motorbase Performance's Dan Vaughn took the Pro-Am honours in sixth position ahead of George Gamble in seventh position.

Jamie Orton was the next Pro-Am runner, finishing eighth overall, as Will Bratt and Rory Collingbourne completed the remainder of the top-ten in ninth and tenth.

Dave Shaw took a clear Am category win ahead of Peter Mangion and Pro-Am runner Esmee Hawkey.