2026 | Eurocup-3 | Paul Ricard | Race 2 | Al Azhari holds off Egozi to claim win Pal Ricard thriller

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Keanu Al Azhari claimed a hard-fought 2026 Eurocup-3 victory at Circuit Paul Ricard after a race-long battle with James Egozi at the front of the field. The Hitech driver overcame several lead changes, intense pressure and a late attack from Egozi to take the win, while Alex Powell completed the podium for Griffin Core. The race began with MP Motorsport locking out the front row through Gianmarco Pradel and Ean Eyckmans, but early drama, Safety Car interruptions and Pradel’s retirement quickly reshaped the contest. Behind the leaders, battles ran throughout the pack as René Lammers, Genaro Trappa, Kacper Sztuka, Santino Panetta and Chistopher El Feghali all fought for key points-paying positions.

Egozi grabs the lead at Turn 1 in Race 2 of the 2026 Eurocup-3 opener at Paul Ricard

As the clock struck 8:55, the 30-car field headed away on the formation lap. After a clean tour around the circuit, Pradel lined up on pole for MP Motorsport, with teammate Eyckmans alongside him on the front row. Behind them, Race 1 winner Egozi started third for Palou Motorsport, while MP Motorsport’s Lammers lined up fourth. With Pradel and Eyckmans at the head of the grid, MP Motorsport appeared well placed to control the race. However, the opening lap quickly changed the order.

However, when the lights went out, Egozi made the strongest launch among the front-runners. He swept around the outside of Turn 1 and seized the lead from Pradel, immediately putting himself in control.

Al Azhari also made rapid progress and climbed into third in the opening exchanges. Pradel tried to respond and kept the pressure on Egozi as he looked to recover the lead. Although he ran side by side with the Palou Motorsport driver, he could not force his way back through.

Further back, Eyckmans suffered a poor start from the front row and dropped to sixth. As Egozi led from Pradel and Al Azhari, Lammers settled into fourth, with Powell running fifth.

Safety Car interrupts the fight

The race soon came under Safety Car conditions after Lorenzo Campos went off track and ended up facing the wrong way. The neutralisation paused the early fight at the front and bunched the field behind Egozi.

Race Control initially announced that the Safety Car would return to the pit lane with just over 23 minutes remaining. However, officials soon reversed that decision when Pradel came to a stop with technical problems. His retirement ended what had looked like a promising race from pole.

Renzo Barbuy also retired, while Stefan Bostandjiev, Enzo Tarnvanichkul and Thomas Strauven pitted with damage before rejoining at the back of the field. As a result, the race restarted with Egozi leading Al Azhari, while Powell, Eyckmans and Lammers prepared to attack behind them.

With around 20 minutes remaining, the Safety Car returned to the pit lane and Egozi controlled the restart well. He quickly built a small gap as battles broke out throughout the field.

However, Al Azhari refused to let him escape. The Hitech driver launched a superb attack and swept around the outside through a sequence of corners to take the lead in impressive fashion. Yet the battle was far from settled.

One lap later, Al Azhari ran wide and handed the lead back to Egozi, who had stayed close enough to capitalise. From there, the pair locked into a tense fight for victory as the race moved into its final 15 minutes.

Behind them, Powell defeated Lammers in the battle for third, while Eyckmans then moved ahead of Lammers to claim fourth. Meanwhile, Panetta and Sztuka fought over sixth, with Trappa, El Feghali and Patrick Heuzenroeder all joining the scrap behind.

Battles rage through the field

As the race entered its final 10 minutes, Heuzenroeder passed El Feghali, while Trappa defended hard from Sztuka. At the same time, Heitor Dall’Agnol and Andrej Petrovic became involved in their own battle further down the order.

At the front, Al Azhari launched another committed move on Egozi and reclaimed the lead. This time, he immediately tried to build a gap, while Egozi came under pressure from Powell.

Further back, Sztuka continued to challenge Trappa, who held firm under heavy pressure. El Feghali then responded to Heuzenroeder and continued to chase the Griffin Core driver, while Fiorentino moved past Harrison for 15th.

Inside the final four minutes, Egozi closed back onto Al Azhari and challenged for the win. However, Al Azhari defended strongly and kept the Palou Motorsport driver behind.

Further down the field, Caretti lost ground after earlier damage and dropped behind Feldmann and Bostandjiev. Meanwhile, Panetta and Lammers fought hard over fifth. Panetta managed to get ahead, but Lammers quickly reclaimed the position.

On the penultimate lap, Bostandjiev passed Feldmann, while El Feghali finally cleared Heuzenroeder to take ninth. Then, on the final lap, Egozi launched one last attack on Al Azhari, but the Hitech driver held firm under pressure.

Al Azhari crossed the line to take victory, with Egozi second and Powell third. Eyckmans recovered from his poor start to finish fourth, while Lammers completed the top five.