Paul Ricard – Race 1: Egozi dominates Lammers in a dramatic season opener

James Egozi wins a dramatic Race 1 at Le Castellet, marked by a poor start from pole-sitter Keanu Al Azhari and a solid sixth-place finish from Frenchman Rafaël Perard. As the lights went out for the first round of the 2026 Eurocup-3 season, Keanu Al Azhari was experiencing a true nightmare at the Paul Ricard circuit. Starting from pole position, the driver stalled, miraculously dropping unscathed to 25th place.

This dramatic turn of events marks the launch of the fourth season of Eurocup-3, the first of three rounds of which will be held alongside the...ELMS was held this weekend, opening a total calendar of eight events. Rene Lammers, who started second, took the opportunity to seize the lead ahead of Alex Powell, in a large field of 30 cars.

A tumultuous Race 1

Race 1, however, was quickly disrupted by incidents. After Renzo Barbuy went off the track in the chicane and teammates Bostandjiev and Trappa made contact, the safety car was deployed. Genaro Trappa was forced to retire with a broken front left wheel, soon followed by Bianca Bustamante, whose stop on track marked the second retirement of the season. At the restart, with only 5 minutes of racing remaining, James Egozi managed to take the lead from Lammers.

On the French side, Rafaël Perard delivered a solid performance. Starting sixth, the Frenchman maintained his position until the checkered flag despite pressure from Keanu Al Azhari at the end of the race. Al Azhari, who staged a spectacular comeback from the back of the field, managed to limit the damage by securing seventh place, narrowly failing to force Perard into a mistake. Further back, the other Frenchman, Caretti, finished 13th after an intense battle with Fiorentino, while the former...IndyCarLundqvist is currently 18th. The drivers will have two more chances to shine this weekend with the sprint on Saturday afternoon and the race on Sunday.

Eurocup-3 – Paul Ricard (France)
The classification of Race 1

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