Eurocup-3 | 2025 Round 6 | Spa-Francorchamps | Campos scores double win but Colnaghi strengthens grip on title - Motorsport

Spread the love

The Eurocup-3 championship entered its iconic Spa-Francorchamps round with the title battle finely poised between MP Motorsport teammates Mattia Colnaghi and Valerio Rinicella, while Ernesto Rivera and Kacper Sztuka remained close enough to keep their hopes alive. Spa is renowned for its demanding 7.004 km layout, featuring legendary corners such as Eau Rouge, Raidillon and Blanchimont, and for its notorious Ardennes weather which often turns races on their head. The circuit’s high-speed straights and heavy braking zones create prime overtaking opportunities, while the constant threat of rain makes tyre choice and strategy critical.

Colnaghi arrived in Belgium as championship leader, having built momentum with a strong home round for MP Motorsport at Assen. Rinicella, his closest challenger, needed to strike back to keep the fight alive, while Rivera was under pressure to recover form after a sequence of non-scores. Campos Racing, meanwhile, sought to disrupt MP Motorsport’s dominance, with Carrasquedo and Rivera both carrying the pace to win races.

The Spa weekend quickly confirmed its reputation for unpredictability. Both races required an extra formation lap due to stalling cars and technical issues, shortening the race duration. Conditions also swung dramatically from damp and slippery to bright and dry, creating a stern examination of driver skill and team strategy. What followed was a pair of races full of incident, safety cars, penalties and decisive championship implications. Colnaghi did not win either contest, but through calm execution he extended his lead, while Rinicella endured his toughest weekend of the year.

Qualifying 1: Carrasquedo snatches pole in tight Qualifying session

Spa-Francorchamps gave us a double qualifying session and a double pole sitter 🇧🇪 #Eurocup3

Q1: For Jesse Carrasquedo
Q2: First pole of the season for Emerson Fittipaldi pic.twitter.com/GfxiLCdOav
— EuroCup-3 (@Eurocup_3) September 5, 2025

The first qualifying session on Friday morning set the tone for an intensely competitive weekend. Jesse Carrasquedo produced a near-perfect lap to seize pole position for Campos Racing. His 2:13.381 was just enough to hold off a determined late effort from Valerio Rinicella, who missed out by a mere 0.032 seconds. Kacper Sztuka continued to demonstrate strong single-lap pace, securing third just 0.161s off pole. The close margins across the top three highlighted how finely balanced performance was at Spa.

Championship leader Mattia Colnaghi lined up just behind them. While not the outright fastest, Colnaghi positioned himself strategically in the top four, ensuring he could strike in the race without taking excessive risks in qualifying. For Rinicella, starting from the front row appeared the perfect platform to cut into his teammate’s points advantage, while Carrasquedo sensed a golden chance to convert pole into a second win of the campaign.

The session itself was not without drama. Several drivers had laps deleted for exceeding track limits, including Enzo Tarnvanichkul, who lost both his fastest laps and was forced to start from the very back of the grid. That ruling shaped the story of the weekend, as the Thai driver would later launch an impressive recovery drive. Campos Racing left the session confident, with Carrasquedo on pole and Rivera also showing encouraging pace further back. MP Motorsport, meanwhile, had both Colnaghi and Rinicella near the front, ready for the duel to continue once the lights went out.

Qualifying 2: Fittipaldi Jr shines with breakthrough pole position

Later in the day, the second qualifying session provided further twists. Emerson Fittipaldi Jr produced his strongest performance of the season, storming to pole with a 2:12.693. His lap combined bravery through the high-speed sections with precision in the Bus Stop chicane, giving him a narrow advantage. Colnaghi followed closely, just 0.147 seconds adrift, ensuring that MP Motorsport remained a front-row presence. Ernesto Rivera, desperate to reignite his title hopes, secured third only 0.211s back, confirming that three different teams had the pace to fight at the front.

For Rinicella, the session was disappointing. Unable to match his teammate’s pace, he qualified further down the order and entered Race 2 under pressure to deliver points after his race one disaster. Campos Racing, by contrast, looked well-positioned. With Rivera on the second row and Carrasquedo starting from fifth, both drivers had genuine opportunities to disrupt the MP Motorsport duo.

The session also highlighted the fierce competition throughout the midfield. Gładysz, Egozi and Caranta all lapped within a few tenths of the top five, while Tarnvanichkul, still penalised from his deleted laps earlier, prepared once again for a charge through the pack. Qualifying 2 confirmed that no single team had dominance at Spa. Instead, the battle for pole came down to tenths, promising a closely fought second race. Fittipaldi Jr entered the afternoon with a breakthrough opportunity, but as Spa had already shown, translating pole into victory is never guaranteed.

Race 1: Rain chaos sees Carrasquedo triumph as Rinicella falters

The Mexican driver secured first place from qualifying all the way to the checkered flag 🏁

Well done, Jesse Carrasquedo 🏆 #Eurocup3 pic.twitter.com/GvrQ3ydSaM
— EuroCup-3 (@Eurocup_3) September 5, 2025

Race 1 unfolded in classic Spa style: unpredictable weather, early drama and a red flag finish. The start was delayed when Luciano Morano stalled, forcing an extra formation lap that shortened the contest. At lights out, Carrasquedo defended his lead aggressively into La Source, while Colnaghi made a decisive move, darting past both Sztuka and Rinicella to slot into second place. Rinicella, caught out by the shuffle, dropped further back to sixth by the end of the opening sequence of corners, a blow to his title challenge.

By lap four, rain began falling heavily in the paddock, quickly spreading across the circuit. Grip levels deteriorated lap by lap, forcing drivers into difficult decisions. Rinicella gambled early, pitting for wet tyres at the end of lap five. His call proved mistimed, as the safety car was deployed soon after, neutralising the field. When the track action resumed at the end of lap eight, conditions worsened dramatically. Within seconds of green flag running, officials waved the red flag, ending the race prematurely.

Results were rolled back to lap seven, confirming Carrasquedo as the winner, with Colnaghi a solid second and Tarnvanichkul rewarded with third after a clean early overtake on Sztuka. Rinicella’s wet-tyre gamble left him stranded outside the points in 22nd, his first non-score of the season. For the championship, Colnaghi extended his lead without risking too much, while Campos celebrated victory in treacherous conditions that showcased Carrasquedo’s composure.

Eurocup-3 Spa-Francorchamps Race 1 Results

Jesse Carrasquedo Jr (Pole, Fastest Lap)
Mattia Colnaghi
Enzo Tarnvanichkul
Kacper Sztuka
Jules Caranta
Andrés Cardenas
James Egozi
Maciej Gładysz
Kai Daryanani
Garrett Berry

Race 2: Rivera strikes back and Colnaghi extends championship lead

The Mexican driver secured first place from qualifying all the way to the checkered flag 🏁

Well done, Jesse Carrasquedo 🏆 #Eurocup3 pic.twitter.com/GvrQ3ydSaM
— EuroCup-3 (@Eurocup_3) September 5, 2025

Race 2 opened with chaos and delivered one of the most dramatic races of the season. Fittipaldi’s pole position counted for nothing when he stalled at the start, leaving Colnaghi to briefly inherit the lead. A breathtaking four-wide battle down the Kemmel straight saw Rivera surge into first place, followed by Carrasquedo, with Colnaghi forced back into third.

Rinicella’s weekend unravelled further almost immediately. At Turn 8, Sztuka clipped the Italian’s car, sending him into the barriers and out of the race. The incident triggered the safety car, and Sztuka later received a five-place grid penalty for the clash. For Rinicella, it was another crushing blow that left his championship challenge hanging by a thread.

At the restart, Carrasquedo relentlessly pressured Rivera. Twice he attempted to pass around the outside of Les Combes, twice he ran wide. On lap six he finally succeeded at the chicane, but Rivera fought back on lap nine along the Kemmel straight to reclaim the lead. That move proved decisive, as a second safety car neutralised the race following a multi-car collision involving Gładysz, Abkhazava and Sztuka.

The race ended with a one-lap sprint. Rivera resisted the pressure to claim his third win of the season and his first points in three races. Colnaghi took second after a bold move on Carrasquedo, who secured third. Behind them, Tarnvanichkul’s storming drive from 28th to fourth captivated attention, but a track-limits penalty dropped him to fifth, handing the position to Egozi. The result cemented Colnaghi’s control of the championship and gave Campos Racing double delight.

Eurocup-3 Spa-Francorchamps Race 2 Results

Ernesto Rivera
Mattia Colnaghi
Jesse Carrasquedo Jr
James Egozi
Enzo Tarnvanichkul
Alexander Abkhazava
Jules Caranta
Oscar Wurz
Francisco Macedo
Emerson Fittipaldi (Pole)

Fastest Lap: Kasper Sztuka

Colnaghi tightens grip as rivals falter

The Spa round marked a decisive turning point in the Eurocup-3 Drivers’ Championship. Mattia Colnaghi extended his lead at the top to 213 points thanks to two second-place finishes that underlined his consistency. While he did not win a race, his ability to stay clear of trouble and maximise points has been the hallmark of his campaign. He now enjoys a commanding 48-point cushion over teammate Valerio Rinicella.

For Rinicella, Spa was a disaster. A failed gamble on wet tyres in Race 1 and a collision in Race 2 left him without a single point, his first scoreless weekend of the season. With only two rounds remaining, the Italian faces a daunting task to overturn the deficit. Meanwhile, Ernesto Rivera re-emerged as a contender. His win in Race 2 brought him to 161 points, only four shy of Rinicella, and restored momentum after three pointless outings.

Further back, Kacper Sztuka remains within reach on 141 points despite penalties and misfortune, while Jesse Carrasquedo surged to 129 after his Race 1 victory. Both drivers are long shots for the title, but their presence ensures the battle for podium places in the final standings will be fierce. Beyond the top five, the midfield reshuffled, with James Egozi and Jules Caranta climbing steadily while Enzo Tarnvanichkul impressed with raw pace but sits only ninth after penalties blunted his charge.

MP Motorsport close to the crown

MP Motorsport strengthened its already formidable advantage in the Teams’ Championship, now standing on 413 points. With Colnaghi’s reliability and Rinicella’s consistent scoring earlier in the season, the Dutch squad has been the benchmark throughout 2025. Even on a weekend where Rinicella faltered, Colnaghi’s double podium ensured the team left Spa with the biggest haul. With a 129-point buffer over their nearest rivals, MP Motorsport has one hand firmly on the trophy.

Behind them, Campos Racing moved into second place on 284 points after a superb weekend. Carrasquedo’s Race 1 victory and Rivera’s Race 2 win gave the team its best round of the year, underlining its ability to challenge MP Motorsport head-to-head when conditions align. Just four points further back sits Griffin Core by Campos on 280, maintaining a strong challenge despite missing out on a win at Spa. The intra-Campos rivalry looks set to continue right until the final round, with the two squads split by fine margins.

Palou Motorsport remains a distant fourth on 94 points, heavily reliant on Sztuka’s efforts, while KCL by MP Motorsport sits in fifth with 44. The rest of the field are fighting mainly for pride, with Saintéloc, Allay, GRS and Drivex competing in the lower order. The gap at the top, however, makes clear that MP Motorsport are on course to claim the 2025 Teams’ crown, needing only steady results to seal the title.