2026 | Eurocup-3 | Paul Ricard | Official Collective Test | Hitech leads as rookies impress

Keanu Al Azhari topped Thursday’s Official Collective in the 2026 Eurocup-3 Championship opener at Circuit Paul Ricard, setting a blistering 1:55.509 for Hitech Grand Prix. Crucially, he edged out James Egozi by just 0.014 seconds, immediately underlining how competitive the field has become. Meanwhile, René Lammers secured third place and kept MP Motorsport firmly in contention, only 0.074 seconds off the top time.

The top positions remained incredibly tight throughout the session. Not only did the top three drivers run nose-to-tail on the timesheets, but the top ten also stayed within a second of the leading pace. As a result, no single team established a clear advantage. Instead, Hitech, Palou Motorsport, and MP Motorsport traded competitive laps, suggesting a fierce battle ahead.

Several rookies delivered standout performances. For instance, Lammers and Ean Eyckmans both secured top-four finishes, while Heitor Dall’Agnol and Rafael Perard also broke into the top ten. Therefore, the new generation wasted no time adapting to the Eurocup-3 machinery. Their pace indicates that experience alone will not dictate results this season.

MP Motorsport demonstrated remarkable depth by placing multiple drivers near the front. Similarly, Palou Motorsport and Griffin Core filled the midfield with consistent lap times. Although Drivex hovered around the top ten, the team still lacked a single headline performance.

Further down the order, the time gaps widened noticeably. Nonetheless, several established drivers, including Linus Lundqvist and Bianca Bustamante, may have focused on longer runs rather than outright pace. Consequently, the current order may not fully reflect race-day performance.

Overall, the session set the tone for an unpredictable season. Because margins remain so fine, even minor improvements could reshuffle the order. Therefore, teams now head into the race weekend knowing that every lap will count.

2026 Eurocup-3: Paul Ricard: Thursday: Official Collective Test: Results

1. #14 Keanu Al Azhari – Hitech Grand Prix – 1:55.509
2. #48 James Egozi – Palou Motorsport – 1:55.523
3. #99 René Lammers (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:55.583
4. #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) – MP Motorsport – 1:55.815
5. #12 Gianmarco Pradel – MP Motorsport – 1:56.192
6. #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:56.215
7. #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul – Griffin Core – 1:56.291
8. #5 Patrick Heuzenroeder – Griffin Core – 1:56.303
9. #33 Rafael Perard (R) – Palou Motorsport – 1:56.327
10. #7 Chistopher El Feghali (R) – Drivex – 1:56.340
11. #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) – Drivex – 1:56.556
12. #39 Santino Panetta (R) – Hitech Grand Prix – 1:56.581
13. #84 Genaro Trappa (R) – Hitech Grand Prix – 1:56.585
14. #9 Thomas Strauven (R) – Griffin Core – 1:56.659
15. #23 Stefan Bostandjiev – Hitech Grand Prix – 1:56.787
16. #41 Alex Powell (R) – Griffin Core – 1:56.928
17. #26 Linus Lundqvist – Double R – 1:57.012
18. #2 Kacper Sztuka – Tecnicar – 1:57.031
19. #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) – Double R – 1:57.257
20. #22 Andrej Petrovic (R) – Tecnicar – 1:57.311
21. #11 Luca Viisoreanu (R) – TC Racing – 1:57.480
22. #77 Bart Harrison (R) – Double R – 1:57.575
23. #8 Alceu Feldmann – MP Motorsport – 1:57.826
24. #16 Bianca Bustamante – Palou Motorsport – 1:57.907
25. #20 Benjamin Beckley (R) – Tecnicar – 1:58.091
26. #3 Edouard Borgna – Drivex – 1:58.131
27. #44 Rayan Caretti (R) – GRS – 1:58.742
28. #70 Andre Rodriguez (R) – GRS – 1:58.899
29. #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) – TC Racing – 1:58.947
30. #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) – Drivex – 1:59.595