After the drama of Monza, where Ernesto Rivera retook the championship lead and Mattia Colnaghi responded with a win in the Sprint Race, the Eurocup-3 field travelled to the Netherlands for its first-ever appearance at Assen. The fourth event of the season brought another major swing in the title fight, with Mp Motorsport producing a dominant home performance and leaving with a perfect weekend of results.
In the opening race, what could have been Mattia Colnaghi’s fourth win of the season and a third Italian one-two alongside teammate Valerio Rinicella quickly changed when Colnaghi was handed a 10-second penalty for moving before the lights went out. Such was his pace that he still managed to salvage third place, but the spotlight was firmly on Rinicella, who after five previous podiums finally took his first Eurocup-3 victory.
It was an Mp Motorsport lockout at the front, with only Michael Belov (Allay Racing) briefly applying pressure in the early laps before inheriting second place after Colnaghi’s penalty. Belov’s result not only marked his first appearance on the podium, but also delivered the first-ever points and podium finish for Allay Racing in Eurocup-3.Former championship leader Ernesto Rivera endured a difficult race, receiving a 5-second track limits penalty that dropped him out of the points entirely. Andrés Cárdenas took fourth ahead of Kacper Sztuka, who recovered quickly from a slow getaway to reclaim a valuable top-five finish.
Sunday’s second race saw Colnaghi make no mistakes from Pole, controlling all 19 laps to take his fourth win of the year along with the fastest lap, earning a maximum 28 points. The reigning F4 Spanish Champion now leads the Eurocup-3 standings with 177 points, also as top rookie, 12 ahead of Rinicella. The Roman driver, who started third, was immediately passed by Alexander Abkhazava, who held firm to secure second place and his second podium of the season after a similar result in Portimão. Rinicella completed the podium, keeping himself in the thick of the fight with 165 points. Rivera, who arrived in Assen as the championship leader, endured a nightmare weekend, failing to score in either race and dropping to third in the standings with 136 points, now 41 adrift of Colnaghi.
It was a home-circuit triple podium for Mp Motorsport in Race two, with Sztuka finishing fourth and moving to 128 points in the standings. In the teams’ championship, Mp Motorsport now sits comfortably ahead with 368 points, extending their advantage over Griffin Core by Campos on 225, which moves up to second place ahead of Campos Racing on 224.
The next round of Eurocup-3 will take place at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit from 3–5 September, where the title battle is expected to intensify on one of the most demanding tracks of the season.
