James Egozi remains firmly in control of the 2026 Eurocup-3 Drivers’ Championship after claiming his fourth victory of the season during the championship’s first visit to Imola.
The Palou Motorsport driver secured pole position for both main races but retired from Race 1 with a mechanical problem while leading. Nevertheless, he recovered to dominate Sunday’s Race 2 and increased his championship total to 142 points.
Ean Eyckmans climbed from fourth to second after inheriting his maiden Eurocup-3 victory in Race 1. Meanwhile, Keanu Al Azhari fell to third after a difficult weekend, while Heitor Dall’Agnol and René Lammers completed the championship’s leading five. Palou Motorsport also strengthened its Teams’ Championship lead despite losing a potential Race 1 victory through Egozi’s retirement and Dall’Agnol’s penalty.
Egozi extends championship advantage despite Race 1 retirement
Egozi entered Imola with a 44-point lead over Al Azhari after winning both main races at Portimão.
The American immediately reinforced his status as the championship benchmark by topping both Friday Qualifying sessions. He beat Dall’Agnol by 0.034s in Qualifying 1 before leading Rafaël Pérard by 0.151s in the second session.
However, Egozi could not convert his first pole position into victory. He led the opening stages of Race 1 before his Palou Motorsport car suddenly lost power near the top of the circuit. The mechanical issue forced him to retire and initially gave team-mate Dall’Agnol the lead.
Egozi still collected points during the Sprint Race before responding emphatically on Sunday. He controlled Race 2 from pole position, immediately built an advantage over Pérard and remained unchallenged through the subsequent restart. The victory increased his season tally to four wins from eight races.
As a result, Egozi leaves Imola with 142 points and a 56-point advantage over new second-placed driver Eyckmans. His championship lead has grown by 12 points since Portimão, despite his failure to finish the opening race in Italy.
Eyckmans moves into second with maiden victory
Eyckmans delivered the most significant championship gain among Egozi’s leading rivals.
The MP Motorsport rookie started Race 1 from fourth and remained close to the leading Palou Motorsport pair through several Safety Car periods. Egozi’s retirement moved him into second before Dall’Agnol crossed the line ahead of him.
However, the stewards handed Dall’Agnol a five-second penalty for forcing Al Azhari off the circuit. That sanction promoted Eyckmans to victory and gave him his first Eurocup-3 win. Alex Powell inherited second, while Dall’Agnol dropped to third.
Eyckmans added further points by finishing in the Sprint Race and placing sixth in Race 2. His 40-point Imola haul increased his total from 46 to 86 and moved him ahead of Al Azhari, Dall’Agnol and Lammers.
Although Egozi still holds a substantial advantage, Eyckmans now leads the chasing group. He sits 12 points ahead of Al Azhari and 18 ahead of fellow rookie Dall’Agnol.
Al Azhari loses ground after difficult Imola round
Al Azhari entered the weekend as Egozi’s closest championship challenger, but incidents restricted him to 12 points across the round.
The Hitech driver qualified third for both main races and initially challenged near the front during Race 1. However, his battle with Dall’Agnol ended when he ran onto the grass and sustained front-wing damage, forcing him into the pits before he retired. The stewards later penalised Dall’Agnol for the incident.
Al Azhari recovered to finish fourth in Race 2 after closing on the fight between Pérard and Kacper Sztuka. However, he could not reach the podium and left Imola with 74 points.
Consequently, Al Azhari slipped from second to third and now trails Egozi by 68 points. Nevertheless, only six points separate him from Dall’Agnol in fourth, while Lammers sits another 12 points behind.
Dall’Agnol remains fourth after losing Race 1 victory
Dall’Agnol displayed front-running pace throughout the weekend but lost the opportunity to claim his maiden victory through a post-race penalty.
The Palou Motorsport rookie qualified alongside Egozi on the Race 1 front row and inherited the lead when his team-mate retired. He then controlled the final restart and crossed the line first.
However, his five-second penalty dropped him behind Eyckmans and Powell to third. Dall’Agnol then retired from the chaotic Sprint Race after contact damaged the front-left suspension of his car.
He recovered with fifth in Race 2, finishing behind Al Azhari and ahead of Eyckmans. Those results increased his championship total from 42 to 68 points and lifted him from fifth to fourth.
Dall’Agnol remains one of three rookies inside the championship’s leading five. He trails Eyckmans by 18 points but sits 12 ahead of Lammers.
Sztuka and Pérard make major championship gains
Several drivers used Imola to move closer to the leading group.
Sztuka scored in all three races and produced his strongest weekend of the season. The Tecnicar by Amtog driver finished fifth in Race 1 before recovering from a grassy excursion during the Sprint Race to add more points.
He then challenged Pérard throughout the closing stages of Race 2 and secured third place. The result marked Sztuka’s first Eurocup-3 podium and Tecnicar’s first podium in the championship.
Sztuka gained 31 points across the weekend and climbed from ninth to seventh in the Drivers’ Championship. He now holds 47 points, only two behind sixth-placed Powell.
Pérard also produced a breakthrough result after a difficult opening race. The Palou Motorsport rookie qualified second for Race 2 and maintained that position throughout the contest despite sustained pressure from Sztuka.
His maiden podium increased his total to 38 points and moved him from eighth to eighth, although he reduced the gap to the drivers immediately ahead. Pérard now trails Sztuka by nine points and leads Gianmarco Pradel by five.
Heuzenroeder enters top 10 after maiden Sprint Race win
Patrick Heuzenroeder moved into the championship’s top 10 after taking his first Eurocup-3 victory in the Imola Sprint Race.
The Griffin Core by Campos driver started from reverse-grid pole and maintained the lead through a red flag and several Safety Car restarts. Although the field completed little uninterrupted racing, Heuzenroeder controlled each restart and took the chequered flag first.
Juan Cota initially finished second but received a post-race penalty for activating Push to Pass too early at a restart. The sanction promoted Genaro Trappa to second and Pradel to third.
Heuzenroeder also finished fourth in Race 1 before encountering a more difficult Race 2. His weekend increased his total from nine to 31 points and moved him from 15th to 10th.
Meanwhile, Trappa climbed to 12th with 21 points, while Pradel remains ninth on 33. Griffin Core team-mates Powell and Thomas Strauven sit sixth and 11th respectively.
2026 Eurocup-3 Drivers’ Championship standings after Round 3 at Imola
- #48 James Egozi — Palou Motorsport — 142 points
- #4 Ean Eyckmans (R) — MP Motorsport — 86 points
- #14 Keanu Al Azhari — Hitech — 74 points
- #27 Heitor Dall’Agnol (R) — Palou Motorsport — 68 points
- #99 René Lammers (R) — MP Motorsport — 56 points
- #41 Alex Powell (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — 49 points
- #2 Kacper Sztuka — Tecnicar by Amtog — 47 points
- #33 Rafaël Pérard (R) — Palou Motorsport — 38 points
- #12 Gianmarco Pradel — MP Motorsport — 33 points
- #5 Patrick Heuzenroeder — Griffin Core by Campos — 31 points
- #9 Thomas Strauven (R) — Griffin Core by Campos — 27 points
- #84 Genaro Trappa (R) — Hitech — 21 points
- #7 Christopher El Feghali (R) — Drivex — 20 points
- #10 Enzo Tarnvanichkul — Griffin Core by Campos — 20 points
- #39 Santino Panetta (R) — Hitech — 12 points
- #77 Bart Harrison (R) — Double R — 6 points
- #44 Rayan Caretti (R) — GRS Team — 3 points
- #37 Filippo Fiorentino (R) — Drivex — 2 points
- #11 Juan Cota — TC Racing — 1 point
- #23 Stefan Bostandjiev — Hitech — 0 points
- #91 Lorenzo Campos (R) — Double R — 0 points
- #22 Andrej Petrović (R) — Tecnicar by Amtog — 0 points
- #26 Tommy Harfield (R) — Double R — 0 points
- #22 Casper Stevenson — Tecnicar by Amtog — 0 points
- #8 Alceu Feldmann — MP Motorsport — 0 points
- #6 Stylianos Kolovos (R) — Drivex — 0 points
- #26 Linus Lundqvist — Double R — 0 points
- #16 Bianca Bustamante — Palou Motorsport — 0 points
- #11 Luca Viișoreanu (R) — TC Racing — 0 points
- #20 Benjamín Beckley (R) — Tecnicar by Amtog — 0 points
- #70 André Rodriguez (R) — GRS Team — 0 points
- #31 Renzo Barbuy (R) — TC Racing — 0 points
- #70 Jakob Bergmeister — GRS Team — 0 points
- #3 Édouard Borgna — Drivex — 0 points
- #70 Yani Stevenheydens — GRS Team — 0 points
- #22 Nacho Tuñón — Tecnicar by Amtog — 0 points
The official classification places Egozi 56 points ahead of Eyckmans, while only 30 points cover the drivers from second to seventh. Therefore, although Egozi has created a substantial cushion, the battle to become his closest challenger remains closely contested.
Palou Motorsport extends Teams’ Championship lead
Palou Motorsport strengthened its Teams’ Championship position despite Egozi’s Race 1 retirement and Dall’Agnol’s Sprint Race incident.
Dall’Agnol’s third place, Pérard’s Race 2 podium and Egozi’s dominant Sunday victory gave the team another substantial points return. Palou increased its total from 150 to 216 points and now leads MP Motorsport by 56.
MP Motorsport remains second after Eyckmans inherited the Race 1 victory. Lammers and Pradel also contributed points across the weekend, helping the Dutch team move from 106 to 160.
Griffin Core made the largest positional gain near the front. Heuzenroeder’s Sprint Race victory, Powell’s Race 1 podium and further points from Strauven and Tarnvanichkul lifted the team from fourth to third. It now holds 108 points, eight ahead of Hitech.
Hitech slipped to fourth after Al Azhari retired from Race 1, although Trappa’s Sprint Race podium and Al Azhari’s fourth place in Race 2 helped the team reach 100 points.
Tecnicar remains fifth but made substantial progress through Sztuka’s consistent weekend and Race 2 podium. The team increased its total from 16 to 47 points, reducing its deficit to Hitech while moving 27 clear of Drivex.
2026 Eurocup-3 Teams’ Championship standings after Round 3 at Imola
- Palou Motorsport — 216 points
- MP Motorsport — 160 points
- Griffin Core — 108 points
- Hitech GP — 100 points
- Tecnicar — 47 points
- Drivex — 20 points
- Double R — 6 points
- GRS Team — 3 points
- TC Racing — 1 point
Palou Motorsport holds the same 56-point advantage in the Teams’ Championship that Egozi possesses in the drivers’ classification. However, the fight behind the leader remains tight, with only eight points separating Griffin Core and Hitech in third and fourth.
Egozi carries commanding lead towards Monza
Imola produced three different winners as Eyckmans, Heuzenroeder and Egozi shared the victories. It also delivered maiden championship wins for Eyckmans and Heuzenroeder, while Pérard and Sztuka secured their first Eurocup-3 podiums.
Nevertheless, Egozi remains the clear driver to beat. He has won half of the season’s opening eight races and holds a lead of more than two main-race victories over Eyckmans.
Behind him, the order remains less settled. Eyckmans has emerged as the leading challenger, but Al Azhari, Dall’Agnol, Lammers, Powell and Sztuka remain separated by only 39 points.
Palou Motorsport holds a similarly strong Teams’ Championship advantage, while Griffin Core’s productive Imola weekend has created a closer fight with MP Motorsport and Hitech.
The 2026 Eurocup-3 season continues with Round 4 at Monza from 31 July to 2 August. The Temple of Speed will give Egozi an opportunity to extend his advantage further, while the closely matched chasing group attempts to reduce his lead before the championship enters its second half.
