2026 | Eurocup-3 | Imola | Official Previous Test | Egozi fastest after Al Azhari leads opener

James Egozi set the fastest time across Friday’s two 2026 Eurocup-3 Official Previous Test sessions at Imola after Keanu Al Azhari led the opening test.

Al Azhari began the day at the top for Hitech with a 1:36.423, finishing 0.214 seconds ahead of rookie Christopher El Feghali. However, Palou Motorsport’s Egozi raised the overall benchmark to 1:35.612 during the second session and led Al Azhari by 0.254 seconds.

René Lammers completed the second-session top three and led the rookies, while several red flags interrupted the field’s final preparations before Qualifying.

Al Azhari leads opening Official Previous Test

Al Azhari continued his strong start to the Imola weekend by leading Official Previous Test 1.

The Hitech driver recorded a 1:36.423 on the 12th of his 15 laps. His time placed him 0.214 seconds clear of Drivex rookie El Feghali, who completed all 18 of his laps and emerged as Al Azhari’s closest challenger.

Championship leader Egozi followed in third with a 1:36.818. Although he finished 0.395 seconds behind Al Azhari, his position kept Palou Motorsport inside the leading group before the second test.

Enzo Tarnvanichkul took fourth for Griffin Core by Campos, while MP Motorsport rookie Lammers completed the top five. Lammers’ teammate Ean Eyckmans followed in sixth, only 0.031 seconds behind.

Griffin Core by Campos rookie Thomas Strauven secured seventh ahead of teammate Patrick Heuzenroeder. Rafael Perard and Santino Panetta completed a top 10 that included six rookies.

Further back, only 0.007 seconds separated Strauven and Heuzenroeder, while 0.019 seconds divided Perard and Panetta.

Lorenzo Campos caused the session’s red flag. Officials subsequently deleted the Double R rookie’s best lap under the regulation covering drivers who trigger a stoppage.

2026 Eurocup-3: Imola: Official Previous Test 1: Results

1. #14 Keanu Al Azhari – Hitech – 1:36.423
2. #7 Christopher El Feghali (R) – Drivex – 1:36.637
3. #48 James Egozi – Palou Motorsport – 1:36.818
4. #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.887
5. #99 René Lammers (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:36.930
6. #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:36.961
7. #9 Thomas Strauven (R) – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.968
8. #5 Patrick Heuzenroeder – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:37.124
9. #33 Rafael Perard (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:37.176
10. #39 Santino Panetta (R) – Hitech – 1:37.195
11. #41 Alex Powell (R) – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:37.238
12. #12 Gianmarco Pradel – MP Motorsport – 1:37.275
13. #2 Kacper Sztuka – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:37.340
14. #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:37.375
15. #11 Juan Cota (R) – TC Racing – 1:37.465
16. #23 Stefan Bostandjiev – Hitech – 1:37.494
17. #26 Tommy Harfield (R) – Double R – 1:37.523
18. #70 Yani Stevenheydens (R) – GRS – 1:37.527
19. #77 Bart Harrison (R) – Double R – 1:37.600
20. #22 Nacho Tuñón – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:37.658
21. #84 Genaro Trappa (R) – Hitech – 1:37.684
22. #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) – Drivex – 1:37.841
23. #8 Alceu Feldmann – MP Motorsport – 1:37.927
24. #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) – Double R – 1:38.200
25. #44 Rayan Caretti (R) – GRS – 1:38.235
26. #16 Bianca Bustamante – Palou Motorsport – 1:38.381
27. #3 Édouard Borgna – Drivex – 1:38.626
28. #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) – TC Racing – 1:38.634
29. #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) – Drivex – 1:38.659
30. #20 Benjamin Beckley (R) – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:39.061

Egozi takes control in the second session

Egozi moved Palou Motorsport to the top during Official Previous Test 2 and set the quickest time of Friday’s running.

The American produced a 1:35.612 on lap 13 of his 14-lap programme. His effort improved on Al Azhari’s opening-session benchmark by 0.811 seconds and marked the first lap of the day below 1:36.000.

Al Azhari maintained his place among the leading drivers with a 1:35.866. Although he could not complete a clean sweep of Friday’s tests, he finished inside the top two for the second consecutive session.

Lammers climbed to third for MP Motorsport and led the rookie classification with a 1:36.045. Hitech rookie Panetta followed in fourth, only 0.055 seconds behind the Dutch driver.

Tecnicar by Amtog’s Kacper Sztuka improved from 13th in the opening session to fifth. El Feghali followed in sixth, while only 0.001 seconds separated him from TC Racing rookie Juan Cota in seventh.

Palou Motorsport rookie Heitor Dall’Agnol secured eighth ahead of Eyckmans and Gianmarco Pradel. Rafael Perard narrowly missed the top 10 after finishing only 0.001 seconds behind Pradel.

Consequently, Palou Motorsport placed Egozi, Dall’Agnol and Perard inside the leading 11. MP Motorsport also showed strong depth through Lammers, Eyckmans and Pradel, who all finished inside the top 10.

Stylianos Kolovos and Bostandjiev each caused a red flag during the session. Officials deleted both drivers’ best laps as a result.

2026 Eurocup-3: Imola: Official Previous Test 2: Results

1. #48 James Egozi – Palou Motorsport – 1:35.612
2. #14 Keanu Al Azhari – Hitech – 1:35.866
3. #99 René Lammers (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:36.045
4. #39 Santino Panetta (R) – Hitech – 1:36.100
5. #2 Kacper Sztuka – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:36.238
6. #7 Christopher El Feghali (R) – Drivex – 1:36.258
7. #11 Juan Cota (R) – TC Racing – 1:36.259
8. #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:36.284
9. #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:36.314
10. #12 Gianmarco Pradel – MP Motorsport – 1:36.365
11. #33 Rafael Perard (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:36.366
12. #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.565
13. #41 Alex Powell (R) – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.638
14. #9 Thomas Strauven (R) – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.643
15. #77 Bart Harrison (R) – Double R – 1:36.724
16. #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) – Double R – 1:36.767
17. #5 Patrick Heuzenroeder – Griffin Core by Campos – 1:36.826
18. #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) – Drivex – 1:36.829
19. #8 Alceu Feldmann – MP Motorsport – 1:36.892
20. #22 Nacho Tuñón – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:36.911
21. #26 Tommy Harfield (R) – Double R – 1:36.961
22. #84 Genaro Trappa (R) – Hitech – 1:36.980
23. #44 Rayan Caretti (R) – GRS – 1:37.362
24. #70 Yani Stevenheydens (R) – GRS – 1:37.377
25. #3 Édouard Borgna – Drivex – 1:37.769
26. #16 Bianca Bustamante – Palou Motorsport – 1:37.801
27. #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) – TC Racing – 1:37.875
28. #23 Stefan Bostandjiev – Hitech – 1:38.004
29. #20 Benjamin Beckley (R) – Tecnicar by Amtog – 1:38.245
30. #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) – Drivex – 1:38.454

Egozi gains momentum before Qualifying

Egozi ended the Official Previous Tests with the fastest overall time, while Al Azhari produced the most consistent results by finishing first and second.

Lammers also strengthened his position before Qualifying. The MP Motorsport rookie moved from fifth in the opener to third in the second session and led his class during the faster test.

El Feghali remained competitive across both sessions with second and sixth, while Panetta improved from 10th to fourth. Sztuka also made considerable progress after moving from 13th to fifth.

The second session produced the quicker times, with the leading seven drivers surpassing Al Azhari’s morning benchmark. However, three red flags across the two tests interrupted several programmes and limited the drivers’ opportunities to complete clean runs.

Egozi therefore enters Qualifying with the outright benchmark, although Al Azhari, Lammers and the closely matched group behind remain capable of challenging him for the leading grid positions.