René Lammers converted his maiden Eurocup-3 pole position into his first victory in the championship during Race 2 at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, while James Egozi finished second to secure the 2026 Drivers’ Championship with two rounds remaining.
Lammers retained the lead at the start before an opening-lap Safety Car interrupted proceedings. Egozi applied pressure when racing resumed on lap four, but the MP Motorsport rookie held firm and controlled the remainder of the contest to win by 1.577s.
Heitor Dall’Agnol completed the podium for Palou Motorsport, while Keanu Al Azhari finished fourth and Eurocup-3 debutant Dani Maciá secured an impressive fifth for Tecnicar by Amtog.
Egozi had entered Jerez with a 107-point championship advantage after extending his lead during Round 5 at Silverstone, meaning the Spanish weekend represented his first opportunity to mathematically secure the title. After victory in Race 1 and another point in the Sprint, second place in the finale finally placed the championship beyond the reach of his rivals.
Lammers starts from maiden pole
Lammers lined up from pole after beating Egozi by only 0.017s during Sunday morning’s Qualifying 2. Dall’Agnol started third alongside Chistopher El Feghali, while Al Azhari and Maciá occupied the third row.
The result returned Lammers to the front after he had repeatedly demonstrated strong pace during the build-up to the weekend. The Dutchman had already topped the combined Official Collective Testing classification at Jerez, but Egozi had taken control of the first competitive day with Qualifying 1 pole and victory in Race 1.
Lammers made the launch he needed when the lights went out and led Egozi into the opening sequence. Dall’Agnol retained third, while the rest of the field fought for position behind the leading trio.
However, the race barely had time to settle before multiple incidents forced Race Control to intervene.
Opening-lap incidents bring out Safety Car
Stylianos Kolovos and Stefan Bostandjiev crashed on the start-finish straight during the opening lap, while Kacper Sztuka and James Hedley also collided at Turn 4.
The incidents left cars requiring recovery and prompted an immediate Safety Car period. Lammers therefore lost any opportunity to create an early advantage, with Egozi remaining directly behind him in second.
For the championship leader, the situation presented a very different challenge from Saturday’s Race 1. Egozi did not need another victory to secure the title and instead needed to ensure he remained comfortably ahead of the mathematical cut-off.
Lammers had considerably more incentive to attack. Despite several podiums and regular front-running pace throughout the season, the MP Motorsport rookie had yet to win a Eurocup-3 race heading into Jerez.
Egozi pressures Lammers at restart
The Safety Car returned to the pits in time for racing to resume on lap four, immediately giving Egozi an opportunity to challenge.
The American stayed close to Lammers during the restart and attempted to pressure the MP Motorsport driver, but Lammers successfully retained first position. Once he defended the initial attack, the Dutchman began settling into his rhythm at the front.
Egozi remained within striking distance during the middle portion of the race. The gap dropped below a second as he kept Lammers under pressure, but the championship leader also had little reason to take unnecessary risks with the title increasingly secure from second place.
Lammers responded as the race entered its closing stages. He began extending his advantage again and prevented Egozi from mounting another serious challenge.
Lammers finally converts pace into victory
After the early Safety Car, no further neutralisations interrupted the race and Lammers controlled the remaining laps.
The MP Motorsport driver completed 18 laps in 31:42.438 to take his maiden Eurocup-3 victory, crossing the line 1.577s ahead of Egozi.
The result capped a weekend in which Lammers had again demonstrated the outright speed that had characterised much of his season. After fifth in Race 1 and sixth in the reverse-grid Sprint, pole and victory on Sunday delivered his biggest points haul of the weekend.
Lammers also strengthened his position in the championship battle behind Egozi. He left Jerez with 161 points, moving ahead of Al Azhari and teammate Ean Eyckmans into second overall.
Egozi secures the 2026 Eurocup-3 title
Egozi did not need victory to complete the main objective of his Jerez weekend.
The Palou Motorsport driver crossed the line in second for his 12th podium of the season and mathematically secured the Drivers’ Championship with four races still remaining.
Egozi had arrived at Jerez in a commanding position after a season that included victories at Paul Ricard, Portimão, Monza and Silverstone. As highlighted in the championship picture before Round 6, his 107-point advantage meant he could potentially finish the title fight during the Spanish weekend.
He began by taking pole and his eighth victory of the season in Race 1. Tenth in the reverse-grid Sprint added another point before his front-row start for Race 2 placed him in an ideal position to complete the job.
Second increased his championship total to 283 points. Lammers became his nearest rival on 161, leaving Egozi 122 points clear with only the Hungaroring and Barcelona rounds remaining.
Egozi therefore became the fourth Eurocup-3 champion, following Esteban Masson, Christian Ho and Mattia Colnaghi.
Dall’Agnol completes Palou Motorsport double podium
Dall’Agnol completed a strong afternoon for Palou Motorsport by finishing third.
The Brazilian rookie had started from the same position and maintained his place throughout the race, eventually crossing the line 6.401s behind Lammers.
His podium also strengthened his own position in both the overall and Rookie standings. Dall’Agnol left Jerez fifth overall with 120 points while sitting third among the rookies.
Al Azhari followed only 0.853s behind him in fourth. The Hitech driver had already claimed victory in Saturday’s Sprint Race and added another solid result as he attempted to remain in contention for second in the championship.
Maciá scores maiden points with impressive fifth
Maciá produced one of the standout performances of the finale by finishing fifth on his Eurocup-3 debut weekend.
The Tecnicar by Amtog driver had already impressed by qualifying sixth and converted that starting position into his first championship points. He crossed the line 8.305s behind Lammers and less than two seconds behind Dall’Agnol in third.
El Feghali followed in sixth for Drivex after starting fourth, while Alex Powell finished seventh for Griffin Core by Campos.
Eyckmans took eighth for MP Motorsport, a result that proved insufficient to keep him ahead of Lammers and Al Azhari in the championship. The Belgian had entered Jerez second overall but left the weekend fourth.
Santino Panetta finished ninth for Hitech, while Enzo Tarnvanichkul completed the top 10 for Griffin Core by Campos.
Strauven unable to repeat Saturday podium
Maksimilian Popov narrowly missed the points in 11th after his runner-up finish in the Sprint, while Gianmarco Pradel followed in 12th.
Thomas Strauven faced a more difficult Sunday after emerging as one of the stars of Saturday’s opening race. The Belgian had qualified second and secured his maiden Eurocup-3 podium in Race 1, but a 16th-place Qualifying 2 result left him with substantially more work in the finale.
Strauven recovered to 13th, finishing just ahead of Bart Harrison. Alceu Feldmann completed the top 15 for MP Motorsport, with Genaro Trappa following in 16th.
Juan Cota, Kai Daryanani, Lorenzo Campos and Renzo Barbuy rounded out the top 20.
Early collisions eliminate four drivers
The incidents that caused the opening Safety Car also resulted in several retirements.
Sztuka and Hedley failed to complete the race after their Turn 4 collision, while Kolovos and Bostandjiev also retired following their incident on the start-finish straight.
Officials subsequently handed Sztuka a three-place grid penalty for the next race in which he participates. Kolovos received a five-place grid penalty for his next appearance, while Benjamin Beckley received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Those decisions did not affect the leading positions, leaving Lammers confirmed as the winner ahead of Egozi and Dall’Agnol.
Lammers leads close battle for second
Although Egozi settled the Drivers’ Championship at Jerez, the fight immediately behind him remains open.
Lammers’ maiden victory moved him into second with 161 points. Al Azhari follows 16 points behind on 145 after combining his Sprint victory with fourth in Race 2.
Eyckmans sits another six points back on 139, meaning only 22 points separate the three drivers fighting over second. Dall’Agnol follows on 120 after adding another podium to his season.
The battle among the rookies also remains open. Lammers leads that classification on 161 points ahead of Eyckmans on 139 and Dall’Agnol on 120.
Palou Motorsport strengthened its position in the Teams’ Championship as well. Egozi and Dall’Agnol’s double podium increased the team’s total to 432 points, giving it a 110-point advantage over MP Motorsport.
Eurocup-3 heads to Hungaroring with title settled
Eurocup-3 leaves Jerez with its Drivers’ Champion already decided but several other battles still unresolved.
Egozi heads to the Hungaroring with the championship secured and four races remaining, while Lammers, Al Azhari and Eyckmans will continue their fight for second. The Teams’ and Rookie standings also remain mathematically open as the season moves into its final two rounds.
For Lammers, Jerez provided the breakthrough result that his pace had threatened throughout the season. For Egozi, second place carried even greater significance as he completed an exceptionally early championship triumph with two entire rounds still to contest.
2026 Eurocup-3: Jerez: Race 2 results
- #99 René Lammers (R) — MP Motorsport — 18 laps — 31:42.438
- #48 James Egozi — Palou Motorsport — +1.577s
- #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) — Palou Motorsport — +6.401s
- #14 Keanu Al Azhari — Hitech — +7.254s
- #22 Dani Maciá (R) — Tecnicar by Amtog — +8.305s
- #7 Chistopher El Feghali (R) — Drivex — +10.144s
- #41 Alex Powell (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — +11.154s
- #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) — MP Motorsport — +15.953s
- #39 Santino Panetta (R) — Hitech — +17.733s
- #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul — Griffin Core by Campos — +18.114s
- #5 Maksimilian Popov — Griffin Core by Campos — +18.510s
- #12 Gianmarco Pradel — MP Motorsport — +19.647s
- #9 Thomas Strauven (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — +19.962s
- #77 Bart Harrison (R) — Double R — +20.240s
- #8 Alceu Feldmann — MP Motorsport — +26.456s
- #84 Genaro Trappa (R) — Hitech — +26.816s
- #11 Juan Cota (R) — TC Racing — +29.257s
- #70 Kai Daryanani — GRS — +31.501s
- #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) — Double R — +31.887s
- #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) — TC Racing — +41.711s
- #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) — Drivex — +43.377s
- #16 Bianca Bustamante — Palou Motorsport — +43.549s
- #3 Sam Urus (R) — Drivex — +47.824s
- #20 Benjamin Beckley (R) — Tecnicar by Amtog — +48.941s
- #33 Rafaël Pérard (R) — Palou Motorsport — +51.093s
Not classified: #2 Kacper Sztuka — Tecnicar by Amtog; #26 James Hedley — Double R; #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) — Drivex; #23 Stefan Bostandjiev — Hitech.
