2026 | Eurocup-3 | Portimão | Qualifying 2 | Egozi takes pole for Palou Motorsport

James Egozi secured pole position in Qualifying 2 at Portimão, as Palou Motorsport led a closely fought 2026 Eurocup-3 session in Portugal.

The American driver set a 1:35.905 on lap six to finish fastest in dry conditions, becoming the only driver to break the 1:36 barrier. His lap placed him 0.203s clear of MP Motorsport rookie Ean Eyckmans, while Palou Motorsport teammate Heitor Dall’Agnol completed the top three.

Egozi’s result gave Palou Motorsport a strong start to Sunday’s running, with the team placing three cars inside the top four. Rafael Perard took fourth, while Griffin Core by Campos rookie Alex Powell completed the top five.

Egozi sets the 2026 Eurocup-3 Portimão Qualifying 2 benchmark

Egozi delivered the fastest lap of the session with a 1:35.905, recorded on his sixth lap of nine. The time gave him pole by just over two tenths and came at an average speed of 174.7 kph.

Behind him, Eyckmans led the rookie order for MP Motorsport. The Belgian posted a 1:36.108 on lap seven, finishing 0.203s behind Egozi and 0.042s ahead of Dall’Agnol.

Dall’Agnol continued Palou Motorsport’s strong session with third place, while Perard followed only 0.050s further back in fourth. Powell then placed Griffin Core by Campos inside the top five with a 1:36.243.

Palou Motorsport controls the front group

Palou Motorsport produced the strongest team performance of Qualifying 2.

Egozi topped the session, Dall’Agnol took third as the second-fastest rookie, and Perard finished fourth. With three cars separated by less than three tenths, the team placed itself in a strong position for the second race at Portimão.

Drivex driver Chistopher El Feghali, who had taken pole in Qualifying 1, ended the second session sixth with a 1:36.365. Thomas Strauven followed in seventh for Griffin Core by Campos, while Keanu Al Azhari, Gianmarco Pradel and Alceu Feldmann completed the top 10.

Rookies feature strongly near the front

Rookie drivers again played a major role in the upper order.

Eyckmans, Dall’Agnol, Perard and Powell all finished inside the top five, while El Feghali and Strauven added two more rookies inside the top seven. Genaro Trappa and Santino Panetta also placed inside the top 13 for Hitech.

The midfield remained close, with Pradel in ninth, Feldmann in 10th, Enzo Tarnvanichkul in 11th, Trappa in 12th and Panetta in 13th all covered by just 0.121s. That compression left several drivers within reach of the front half of the grid.

Fiorentino loses best lap after red flag

The provisional classification noted one post-session change involving Filippo Fiorentino.

The Drivex rookie finished 18th with a 1:36.924, but the classification stated that car #37 had its best lap time deleted for causing a red flag under Article 30.7. The session was classified with the track status listed as dry.

2026 Eurocup-3: Portimão: Qualifying 2: Results

1. #48 James Egozi — Palou Motorsport — 1:35.905
2. #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) — MP Motorsport — 1:36.108
3. #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) — Palou Motorsport — 1:36.150
4. #33 Rafael Perard (R) — Palou Motorsport — 1:36.200
5. #41 Alex Powell (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — 1:36.243
6. #7 Chistopher El Feghali (R) — Drivex — 1:36.365
7. #9 Thomas Strauven (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — 1:36.547
8. #14 Keanu Al Azhari — Hitech — 1:36.561
9. #12 Gianmarco Pradel — MP Motorsport — 1:36.584
10. #8 Alceu Feldmann — MP Motorsport — 1:36.642
11. #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul — Griffin Core by Campos — 1:36.664
12. #84 Genaro Trappa (R) — Hitech — 1:36.671
13. #39 Santino Panetta (R) — Hitech — 1:36.705
14. #5 Patrick Heuzenroeder — Griffin Core by Campos — 1:36.772
15. #23 Stefan Bostandjiev — Hitech — 1:36.806
16. #2 Kacper Sztuka — Tecnicar by Amtog — 1:36.853
17. #26 Tommy Harfield (R) — Double R — 1:36.908
18. #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) — Drivex — 1:36.924
19. #99 René Lammers (R) — MP Motorsport — 1:36.965
20. #77 Bart Harrison (R) — Double R — 1:36.997
21. #16 Bianca Bustamante — Palou Motorsport — 1:37.017
22. #44 Rayan Caretti (R) — GRS — 1:37.076
23. #22 Casper Stevenson — Tecnicar by Amtog — 1:37.125
24. #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) — Double R — 1:37.246
25. #3 Edouard Borgna — Drivex — 1:37.294
26. #11 Luca Viisoreanu (R) — TC Racing — 1:37.435
27. #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) — Drivex — 1:37.440
28. #70 Jakob Bergmeister — GRS — 1:37.796
29. #20 Benjamin Beckley (R) — Tecnicar by Amtog — 1:38.047
30. #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) — TC Racing — 1:38.532