The Mexican driver claimed his maiden win in the category, and the Campos Racing driver now leads the drivers’ standings. Carrasquedo gave Griffin Core by Campos their first victory of the year, while Sztuka, with two third-place finishes in the Algarve, moved up to second overall. Frenchman Caranta also made it to the podium, while Tarnvanichkul and Macedo contributed to an outstanding points haul
The second round of the 2025 Eurocup-3 season was an absolutely sensational one for Campos Racing, Griffin Core by Campos, and their drivers. For Campos Racing, the young Ernesto Rivera claimed his first-ever win in the category, taking the lead in the overall standings — and also among the rookies. The Mexican driver completed a superb weekend with a second-place finish in the other long race. Griffin Core by Campos also tasted victory thanks to fellow Mexican Jesse Carrasquedo, who won Saturday’s long race. Jules Caranta of Campos Racing and Kacper Sztuka of Griffin Core by Campos also appeared on the podium, while Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Campos Racing) and Francisco Macedo (Griffin Core by Campos) achieved their best Eurocup-3 results to date, each finishing fourth.
Let’s break it down. Saturday’s free practice sessions were already very promising for the Alzira-based teams: Carrasquedo set the fastest lap at 1:39.752, closely followed by Tarnvanichkul, Rivera, and Sztuka. Qualifying was almost a carbon copy of the morning session. In a tight battle between Griffin Core by Campos and Campos Racing, Sztuka came out on top — and claimed two extra points — by clocking a 1:39.888. Just 14 thousandths behind was Carrasquedo, while Rivera and Tarnvanichkul qualified third and fourth with laps of 1:40.051 and 1:40.168, respectively. Right behind them, Caranta qualified fifth (1:40.178), and Macedo completed the strong team performance in seventh (1:40.270).
The first long race of the weekend, held that same afternoon, began with an incident that brought out the safety car. Sztuka led ahead of Carrasquedo, Rivera, Tarnvanichkul, and Caranta, with Macedo in sixth. Racing resumed on lap 3, but it was a poor restart for Sztuka, who dropped four positions, allowing Carrasquedo to inherit the lead. Positions remained mostly stable until lap 10, when Sztuka overtook Tarnvanichkul for fourth, just before another safety car period. With just two laps left, green flags returned. Carrasquedo, who had set the fastest lap, controlled the pace and took the win ahead of Rivera. Sztuka passed Tarnvanichkul in the final sprint to complete the podium, while Caranta finished fourth. Tarnvanichkul and Macedo dropped down the order in the closing stages and couldn’t capitalize on their strong starts.
Later that evening, a new format made its debut with a shortened sprint race. The starting grid was formed by inverting the top twelve qualifiers from Q1. Macedo lined up in fifth as the best-positioned driver. When the lights went out, both Rivera and Sztuka stalled and dropped to the back. Macedo was aggressive and climbed the order, overtaking Mattia Colnaghi and then Valerio Rinicella to move into third. However, a post-race penalty dropped him to fourth, still his best result to date. Carrasquedo also made a strong comeback to finish sixth, with Tarnvanichkul ninth and scoring points. Caranta, Rivera, and Sztuka ended the race further back, though the Polish driver earned the bonus point for fastest lap.
Sunday promised another intense day on and off the track. In the second qualifying session, Mexican drivers Carrasquedo and Rivera, along with Sztuka, were the top contenders for pole. Ultimately, Carrasquedo set the fastest time with a 1:39.515, earning two extra points. However, he would not start from pole due to a five-place grid penalty issued by the stewards. As a result, Rivera inherited pole position, with Sztuka alongside him on the front row. Frenchman Caranta lined up third, while Macedo shared the third row with Carrasquedo. Tarnvanichkul completed the top ten.
At the start, Rivera held the lead, while Sztuka dropped to third behind Caranta and Colnaghi. Carrasquedo crossed the line in eighth at the end of the opening lap, just ahead of Tarnvanichkul. Unfortunately, Macedo’s race ended on lap 2 when he got stuck in the gravel trap, prompting another safety car. On the lap 5 restart, Carrasquedo lost his front wing in a collision. Caranta, who had been overtaken by both Colnaghi and Sztuka, made a clever move into the final corner to repass the Polish driver and regain third. From that point onward, the race ran uninterrupted. Rivera pulled away from Colnaghi, who had Caranta and Sztuka right behind him. Aware that the Italian had a five-second penalty for track limits, Caranta and Sztuka stayed close, securing second and third places behind race winner Rivera. Tarnvanichkul achieved a brilliant fourth-place finish, his best yet in Eurocup-3. Carrasquedo rejoined the track after a pit stop and set the fastest lap.
After two rounds, Rivera leads the championship with 66 points, five ahead of Sztuka. Caranta is now fifth with 47 points, seven clear of Carrasquedo, who is sixth. The top ten is rounded out by Thailand’s Tarnvanichkul. In the teams’ standings, Campos Racing is second with 115 points, while Griffin Core by Campos sits third with 103.
The third round of the season is scheduled for two weeks from now at Circuit Paul Ricard and, like in Portimão, will feature two long races and one sprint race.
Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Campos Racing Driver in Eurocup-3): “I think it was quite an interesting weekend with a lot of ups and downs. I think the pace was always there, just some small errors in execution from my side. But yeah, I think overall the team as a whole had a very strong weekend. We performed quite well as a team, and I think we can be happy with that. Obviously, I'm always trying to do the best result for myself, but in these weeks when I was lacking a bit, I was pleased to see the team was performing really well and a lot of points.”
