James Egozi delivered another commanding weekend in the 2026 Eurocup-3 season at Monza, taking victory in both races at the Temple of Speed and further extending his advantage at the top of the championship. Palou Motorsport also left Italy with an increasingly comfortable lead in the Teams’ standings after another highly productive round.
The fourth event of the season began with a dramatic opening qualifying session, where Rafaël Pérard secured his maiden Eurocup-3 pole position.
A red flag caused by Juan Cota at the Parabolica with just over five minutes remaining completely changed the complexion of the session. Christopher El Feghali had been leading at the time, but when the action resumed, Palou Motorsport made the most of the final opportunity.
Pérard produced a 1:41.324 to beat teammate Egozi by just 0.086 seconds, completing a Palou front-row lockout. Alex Powell qualified third ahead of Gianmarco Pradel, Patrick Heuzenroeder and Keanu Al Azhari.
Egozi fights back to win Race 1
Egozi’s task became considerably harder before Race 1 even started. A five-place grid penalty for impeding Al Azhari in qualifying dropped the championship leader from the front row to seventh on the grid. It did little to slow him down.
After quickly moving up the order at the start, Egozi worked his way past René Lammers and Patrick Heuzenroeder before catching the leading group. Al Azhari was his next target, leaving only teammate Pérard between the American and another victory.
Egozi eventually found his way past the polesitter before the Parabolica and held off Pérard’s late attempts to respond, taking his fifth victory of the season.
Pérard completed another impressive performance with second place, securing a Palou Motorsport one-two, while Lammers came through to take the final step of the podium. El Feghali finished fourth ahead of Heuzenroeder and Al Azhari.
Conditions changed for Sunday’s second qualifying session following overnight rain, with parts of the circuit still damp when the cars headed out.
Once again, a late red flag played a major role in deciding the session. This time it was Filippo Fiorentino who brought proceedings to a halt, with his Drivex teammate Christopher El Feghali sitting at the top of the timesheets.
Unlike on Saturday, nobody was able to displace him after the restart. El Feghali’s 1:41.605 earned him his second pole position of the season after his previous success in Portimão. Egozi missed pole by just six thousandths of a second, with Al Azhari third ahead of Pérard, Heitor Dall'agnol and Lammers.
James completes the Monza double
Race 2 delivered the kind of unpredictable action traditionally associated with Monza, with several incidents and Safety Car periods constantly reshuffling the order.
El Feghali initially defended the lead from Egozi at the first chicane, while the championship leader dropped as far as sixth after running deep at the Roggia. Once again, however, Egozi quickly began working his way back towards the front.
The race changed following incidents involving several of the leading contenders. Dall’Agnol moved into the lead ahead of Al Azhari and Egozi before another restart saw the Emirati driver take first place.
Egozi remained firmly in contention and, after the final Safety Car period, both he and Dall’Agnol found their way past Al Azhari. The championship leader then overtook his Palou teammate at the Roggia and controlled the closing stages to complete a perfect double victory at Monza.
Dall’Agnol initially crossed the line second ahead of Lammers, but the final classification changed significantly after a series of post-race penalties.
The Brazilian received a ten-second penalty for activating the Push-to-Pass system before the permitted point following a Safety Car restart, dropping him to 16th. He was also handed a three-place grid penalty for the next race following his earlier contact with El Feghali.
As a result, Lammers was promoted to second place, completing a double podium weekend, while Kacper Sztuka inherited third for Tecnicar. Alex Powell moved up to fourth ahead of Ean Eyckmans, with Gino Trappa sixth and El Feghali seventh.
A perfect weekend at Monza leaves Egozi in an increasingly commanding position at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. The American now leads with 193 points, almost doubling the tally of his closest rival, Ean Eyckmans, who sits second with 100. Lammers’ double podium moves him into third place with 89 points, ahead of Al Azhari on 86. Dall’Agnol remains fifth with 68, while Powell and Sztuka are tied on 62. Pérard follows with 58, with Heuzenroeder and El Feghali completing the top ten on 41 points each.
Palou Motorsport’s strong Monza weekend also extends its advantage in the Teams’ Championship. The Spanish squad leads the standings with 285 points, 78 clear of Mp Motorsport on 207. Griffin Core occupies third with 138 points, followed by Hitech GP on 120 and Tecnicar on 62.
Eurocup-3 will return to action at Silverstone from 10 to 13 September, with the legendary British circuit hosting the fifth round of the 2026 season.
