Barcelona – Race 1: Kacper Sztuka wins, Jules Caranta on the podium

While the Drivers' and Constructors' titles had already been secured by Mattia Colnaghi and his MP Motorsport team at Jerez, the final round of the Eurocup-3 was expected to be the scene of a battle for the silver medal between Valerio Rinicella and Ernesto Rivera, second and third respectively before Race 1 of this 2025 final. The Italian then had a nine-point lead over his Mexican rival… before Rivera retired in the first race, thus losing his third place in the overall standings.

But the script has changed again in the battle for the runner-up position: thanks to his second victory of the season, Kacper Sztuka now takes provisional second place in the Drivers' standings. Already a winner at the Paul Ricard circuit in June, the Pole delivered a solid performance to secure another victory.

Despite securing pole position in the first qualifying session, Jesse Carrasquedo started sixth due to a penalty incurred in the previous round at Jerez. Sztuka therefore inherited the front spot on the grid. Carrasquedo then had a difficult start to the race, dropping to seventh before going off track and rejoining without a front wing. He ultimately finished the race in twentieth place.

A tumultuous Race 1 in Barcelona

On the French side, Jules Caranta has only one race left to try and secure a victory this season. The French rider nevertheless demonstrated great fighting spirit, resisting a particularly aggressive Rinicella right up until the restart. The Italian ultimately managed to take second place, while Caranta finished fourth. Caranta was officially credited with third place, thanks to the ten-second penalty Maciej Cladysz received for a false start.

Also noteworthy was the cruel end for Mikhael Belov: after glimpsing a second podium finish in two appearances, the Kyrgyz driver retired in the final moments, missing out on a dream return to Eurocup-3. He thus became the fourth victim of a particularly demanding Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

The other retirements of the day were those of Alexandre Abkhazava, who spun out mid-race and brought out the safety car, and Isaac Barashi, who was forced to retire under neutralization.

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Regarding the rest of this final race weekend, the second qualifying session will take place this Sunday at 9am (French time), while the final race of the season will start at 14:40pm on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

Eurocup-3 – Barcelona (Spain)
The classification of Race 1