2026 | Eurocup-3 | Jerez | Qualifying 2 | Lammers edges Egozi by 0.017s for maiden pole

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René Lammers claimed his maiden Eurocup-3 pole position after beating championship leader James Egozi by just 0.017s during Qualifying 2 at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto.

The MP Motorsport rookie produced a 1:33.927 on the seventh lap of his eight-lap programme to move to the head of the order. Egozi responded with a 1:33.944 but fell narrowly short, while Heitor Dall’Agnol completed the top three for Palou Motorsport, 0.338s behind Lammers.

Christopher El Feghali followed only 0.009s further back in fourth, while Sprint Race winner Keanu Al Azhari completed the top five.

Lammers’ pole continued the pace he had shown throughout the build-up to Round 6. After leading the combined two-day Collective Testing at Jerez, the Dutchman remained one of the fastest drivers throughout the additional Thursday running before returning to the top when Sunday’s competitive action began.

Lammers edges Egozi in fight for pole

Lammers and Egozi separated themselves from the rest of the field during the final stages of the session.

The MP Motorsport driver set his decisive 1:33.927 on lap seven, averaging 169.5kph around Jerez. Egozi recorded his fastest effort one lap earlier and stopped the clock at 1:33.944, leaving only 0.017s between the two front-row starters.

Sunday morning therefore produced Lammers’ first Eurocup-3 pole after several sessions in which he had already demonstrated front-running pace without converting it into the top starting position.

The result also represented a turnaround from Saturday morning, when Egozi had claimed Qualifying 1 pole before converting it into victory. The championship leader had controlled the opening Jerez race despite three Safety Car periods, while Lammers finished fifth.

Lammers returned to the level of performance that had made him the benchmark during much of the pre-event running, placing himself directly alongside Egozi for the final race of the weekend.

Dall’Agnol narrowly beats El Feghali to third

A larger gap separated the front row from the battle for third, but the margins immediately behind remained extremely close.

Dall’Agnol led that group with a 1:34.265, finishing 0.338s behind Lammers. El Feghali came within only 0.009s of denying the Palou Motorsport rookie third, recording a 1:34.274 for Drivex.

Dall’Agnol therefore gave Palou Motorsport two cars inside the top three, while El Feghali secured his strongest starting position of the Jerez weekend after taking ninth in Qualifying 1.

Al Azhari followed in fifth with a 1:34.385. Fresh from victory in the Sprint Race, the Hitech driver finished 0.458s away from pole and again placed himself ahead of Ean Eyckmans in their increasingly important championship battle.

The fight behind Egozi had already tightened significantly after only nine points covered second through fourth following Silverstone, and Sunday’s starting order created another opportunity for those positions to change.

Maciá impresses with sixth

Dani Maciá produced one of the strongest performances of the session by taking sixth for Tecnicar by Amtog.

The Spaniard recorded a 1:34.445 on lap eight of nine, finishing 0.518s behind Lammers and only 0.060s away from Al Azhari. The result placed him on the third row for the final race during his debut Eurocup-3 weekend.

Alex Powell followed in seventh with a 1:34.472 for Griffin Core by Campos. Only 0.005s separated him from Genaro Trappa in eighth, while Eyckmans finished another 0.001s behind the Hitech rookie in ninth.

That meant only 0.006s covered Powell, Trappa and Eyckmans from seventh through ninth. Santino Panetta completed the top 10 with a 1:34.503, leaving the first ten drivers within 0.576s of Lammers.

Eyckmans faces recovery from ninth

Eyckmans’ ninth-place result left the MP Motorsport rookie with work to do as he attempted to protect his position in the championship battle behind Egozi.

The Belgian had arrived at Jerez sitting second in the Drivers’ standings, seven points ahead of Al Azhari and nine clear of Lammers. Saturday’s two races had already reduced those margins, with Al Azhari winning the Sprint and Lammers scoring in both contests.

Sunday Qualifying then placed both of Eyckmans’ closest rivals ahead of him again. Lammers secured pole, while Al Azhari took fifth. Eyckmans could only manage a 1:34.478, leaving him 0.551s away from his teammate and directly alongside Panetta on the fifth row.

The session therefore created another opportunity for Lammers and Al Azhari to apply pressure in the fight for second as the weekend moved towards its final race.

Tarnvanichkul and Strauven fall outside top 10

Enzo Tarnvanichkul narrowly missed the top 10 after recording a 1:34.542 for Griffin Core by Campos. He finished only 0.039s behind Panetta but had to settle for 11th.

Gianmarco Pradel and Rafaël Pérard then produced identical 1:34.551 laps. Pradel took 12th ahead of Pérard in 13th, with both drivers 0.624s behind Lammers.

Maksimilian Popov followed in 14th after finishing second in Saturday’s Sprint Race, while Bart Harrison placed 15th for Double R.

Thomas Strauven faced a considerably more difficult session after his strong Saturday. The Belgian had started Race 1 from the front row before taking his maiden Eurocup-3 podium in second, but his 1:34.815 left him only 16th in Qualifying 2.

Kacper Sztuka followed just 0.006s behind Strauven in 17th, while James Hedley, Juan Cota and Stefan Bostandjiev completed the top 20.

Bustamante lap deletion affects final order

Alceu Feldmann led the remaining runners in 21st, ahead of Lorenzo Campos, Kai Daryanani and Stylianos Kolovos.

Renzo Barbuy took 25th ahead of Sam Urus and Benjamin Beckley, while Bianca Bustamante finished 28th after officials deleted her best lap. Her remaining 1:36.080 left her 2.153s away from Lammers’ benchmark.

Filippo Fiorentino completed ten laps but did not register a classified time, leaving him at the bottom of the order.

At the opposite end, Lammers secured the strongest possible starting position for the final race. His first pole placed one of Egozi’s closest pursuers directly alongside the championship leader as the title fight approached its decisive stage at Jerez.