2026 | Eurocup-3 | Jerez | Sprint Race | Al Azhari wins disrupted Sprint ahead of Popov

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Keanu Al Azhari secured his third victory of the 2026 Eurocup-3 season in a heavily interrupted Sprint Race at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, beating debutant Maksimilian Popov and Rafaël Pérard.

Popov started from reverse-grid pole for Griffin Core by Campos, but Al Azhari produced the stronger launch from second and swept around the outside into Turn 1 to take the lead. However, the race barely settled before James Hedley crashed at Turn 3, triggering a Safety Car and subsequently a red flag while officials repaired the tyre barriers.

Racing resumed with just over nine minutes remaining, but another incident for Genaro Trappa eventually brought the Safety Car back onto the circuit. The field remained neutralised through to the chequered flag, allowing Al Azhari to win by 0.535s over Popov, while Pérard completed the podium.

The Sprint followed only a few hours after James Egozi had converted pole into victory during Race 1 at Jerez, although the championship leader faced a very different challenge from 12th on the reversed grid and eventually finished 10th.

Popov starts from reverse-grid pole

The Sprint Race grid reversed the leading 12 positions from Qualifying 1, placing Popov on pole after he had qualified 12th earlier in the day.

Al Azhari joined him on the front row after taking 11th in Qualifying, while Ean Eyckmans and Chistopher El Feghali occupied row two. Pérard and Heitor Dall’Agnol followed from fifth and sixth, with René Lammers and Alex Powell starting directly behind them.

The drivers who had controlled Qualifying therefore faced the biggest recovery task. Enzo Tarnvanichkul started 10th, Thomas Strauven lined up 11th and Egozi began from 12th after taking pole that morning.

The reversed order offered Al Azhari an opportunity to make significant gains in the tight fight behind Egozi in the championship. He had entered Jerez among the drivers separated by only nine points in second through fourth following the standings after Round 5 at Silverstone, making the Sprint an important chance to capitalise on starting ahead of Eyckmans and Lammers.

Al Azhari sweeps into the lead

Popov could not convert pole into the lead when the lights went out. The Griffin Core by Campos driver made a difficult getaway, allowing Al Azhari to attack immediately from the outside.

The Hitech driver carried his momentum around the outside into Turn 1 and emerged ahead, taking control of the race before the field had completed the opening sequence. Popov recovered quickly enough to remain second, while the order behind began to change as drivers fought for position through the opening corners.

Pérard made particularly strong progress from fifth and emerged in podium contention, while Eyckmans remained close to the leaders. Dall’Agnol also stayed inside the leading group, giving Palou Motorsport two cars in position to score heavily despite Egozi starting further back.

However, the race quickly shifted away from green-flag competition when Hedley lost control at Turn 3.

Hedley crash causes red flag

Hedley spun into the barriers at Turn 3 during the opening stages, causing substantial enough damage to the tyre barrier for Race Control to intervene.

Officials initially deployed the Safety Car, neutralising the field behind Al Azhari. However, the recovery and barrier repairs required more time than initially expected, forcing officials to stop the race with a red flag.

The interruption removed any early advantage Al Azhari had created and gave Popov another opportunity to challenge when the race resumed. It also compressed the field at a point when several drivers further back had begun attempting to recover from their reversed-grid positions.

The stoppage left just over nine minutes on the clock when the cars eventually returned to racing, effectively turning the remainder of the Sprint into a short dash to the finish.

Al Azhari retains control after restart

Al Azhari handled the restart without allowing Popov an opportunity to reclaim first place.

The Hitech driver quickly settled back into the lead, while Popov remained close enough to keep the pressure on. Behind them, Pérard held third after progressing from the third row, with Eyckmans and Dall’Agnol completing the top five.

Lammers ran sixth for MP Motorsport, while El Feghali followed closely in seventh. Tarnvanichkul occupied eighth ahead of Powell, leaving Egozi in the final points position in 10th after climbing from 12th.

The championship leader’s recovery carried some value despite being far removed from the commanding performance he had delivered earlier in the day. Egozi entered the Sprint after extending his advantage with victory in Race 1, so even a single point further strengthened a championship position that was already approaching mathematical certainty.

Trappa incident ends green-flag running

The restarted race did not remain under green conditions for long enough to produce a sustained battle for victory.

Trappa became stranded in the gravel at Turn 8 after completing eight laps, forcing Race Control to deploy another Safety Car. With insufficient time remaining to clear the Hitech car and restart the race, the field stayed behind the Safety Car until the chequered flag.

That intervention prevented Popov from mounting a final challenge and ensured Al Azhari retained the lead he had claimed at the opening corner. The compressed finish left only 0.535s between the first two cars, although the gap reflected the neutralised ending rather than a final-lap battle.

Al Azhari completed 11 laps in 33:52.877 and also set the fastest lap of the race, recording a 1:35.728 on lap seven.

Popov takes podium on Eurocup-3 debut

Although Popov lost the lead at the start, second place represented an impressive result on his Eurocup-3 debut.

The Griffin Core by Campos driver had shown strong pace throughout the preceding Jerez running and converted his reversed-grid pole into an immediate podium. He crossed the line just over half a second behind Al Azhari and remained clear of Pérard in third.

Pérard’s podium marked his third top-three finish of the season and provided another strong result for Palou Motorsport. Starting fifth, the French rookie moved forward during the limited green-flag running and remained in third through the final Safety Car period.

Eyckmans took fourth and earned useful points in his battle with Al Azhari and Lammers, while Dall’Agnol completed the top five. Only 2.743s covered the first five cars in the final classification following the Safety Car finish.

Lammers finishes sixth as title rivals score

Lammers followed in sixth after starting seventh, adding more points during a Jerez weekend in which he had already shown substantial pace during Official Collective Testing and the subsequent test sessions.

El Feghali finished only 0.081s behind in seventh, while Tarnvanichkul recovered from 10th on the grid to take eighth. Powell finished ninth after starting eighth, with Egozi completing the points-paying positions in 10th.

Kacper Sztuka narrowly missed out in 11th, ahead of Strauven. The Race 1 runner-up therefore failed to score from his 11th-place starting position, while Filippo Fiorentino, Gianmarco Pradel and Santino Panetta completed the top 15.

Dani Maciá finished 16th on his Eurocup-3 debut weekend, followed by Juan Cota, Lorenzo Campos and Bart Harrison.

Al Azhari strengthens fight for second

The Sprint victory carried particular significance for Al Azhari beyond adding another win to his season tally.

Egozi’s commanding advantage meant the main championship battle had increasingly shifted towards the positions behind him. Eyckmans, Al Azhari and Lammers had arrived at Jerez separated by only nine points, leaving the fight for second considerably closer than the contest for the title.

Al Azhari maximised the reverse-grid opportunity by taking victory and fastest lap, while Eyckmans limited the damage with fourth. Lammers also scored strongly in sixth, ensuring all three remained closely matched heading into Sunday.

Egozi, meanwhile, added another point for 10th. Although the Sprint did not provide the same haul as his Race 1 victory, his championship advantage remained substantial before Qualifying 2 and the final race of the weekend.