Powell, on his championship debut, was in podium contention throughout the weekend, taking a third place on Saturday and only a penalty denied him a repeat result on Sunday. Tarnvanichkul also drove his Red Bull-liveried car to second place. Strauven and Heuzenroeder finished in the points
The Circuit Paul Ricard hosted the opening round of the 2026 Eurocup-3 title fight this past weekend. GriffinCore Campos Racing and its drivers enjoyed a promising start to the season, pointing towards another successful campaign. Alex Powell and Enzo Tarnvanichkul both stepped onto the French podium—Powell with a third place in the first feature race of the weekend, which he repeated in the second until a post-race penalty denied him, while Tarnvanichkul maximized his chances with a second place in the sprint race. Completing a strong team performance, Belgium’s Thomas Strauven and Australia’s Patrick Heuzenroeder also secured top-ten finishes for GriffinCore Campos Racing.
The drivers first took to the track during Friday’s free practice sessions. Tarnvanichkul was the fastest of the Alzira-based squad with a lap of 1:55.484. Powell and Heuzenroeder were seventh and eighth respectively, with times of 1:55.697 and 1:55.862. Strauven narrowly missed out on the top ten, placing twelfth with a best of 1:56.067.
Qualifying took place later that afternoon. In Q1, the field was extremely tight, with the top fifteen covered by just one second. Powell emerged as the team’s best performer with a lap of 1:55.448, securing fourth on the grid. Tarnvanichkul set the twelfth-fastest time with a 1:56.084, which handed him pole position for the reversed-grid sprint race. Strauven was fourteenth (1:56.108), while Heuzenroeder was unable to set a representative lap due to an issue.
In Q2, Powell was again in contention for pole position, finishing third with a 1:55.616. However, he was handed a five-place grid penalty for not sufficiently slowing under yellow flags, dropping him to eighth on the grid. Tarnvanichkul and Strauven qualified seventh and ninth with times of 1:55.860 and 1:55.914 respectively, while Heuzenroeder set the fifteenth-fastest time with a 1:56.046.
Saturday’s first race, scheduled for 30 minutes plus one lap, got underway at midday. Powell made an excellent start, gaining a position and moving into third behind René Lammers and James Egozi. Further back, Tarnvanichkul and Strauven ran ninth and eleventh in the early stages. A three-lap safety car period was triggered after a stranded car, and shortly after the restart, Heuzenroeder was forced to pit due to front wing damage. At the front, a four-way battle for the lead unfolded between Powell, Lammers, Egozi, and Ean Eyckmans. In a close finish decided by tenths, Powell held onto third place at the chequered flag, also finishing second among the rookies. Tarnvanichkul crossed the line ninth, two places ahead of Strauven. Heuzenroeder, after his stop, finished twenty-seventh but showed strong pace ahead of the remaining races.
The second race of the day, the sprint, was scheduled for 20 minutes plus one lap. Tarnvanichkul, starting from reversed-grid pole, was overtaken at the start by Christopher El Feghali, who seized the lead. The Thai driver stayed close behind in the early laps. A safety car was deployed on lap seven due to a mechanical issue and remained on track until just one minute remained. Tarnvanichkul launched another attack after the restart, crossing the line second, just nine tenths behind the winner. Strauven and Powell delivered solid performances, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Heuzenroeder produced an impressive recovery drive to finish thirteenth.
Everything came down to Sunday’s third and final race, again over 30 minutes plus one lap. Powell made another excellent start, climbing to fifth within the opening lap. Tarnvanichkul and Strauven both gained positions early on but encountered issues during the first lap and dropped down the order. Fortunately, an early safety car bunched up the field. Racing resumed after three laps, and Powell immediately gained another position to move into fourth. With a bold move on lap seven, he overtook Lammers to enter the podium places. Heuzenroeder was also on the move and running inside the top ten. From there to the finish, Powell, always within reach of the leading pair, controlled his pace and held third place across the line. Unfortunately, a post-race five-second penalty dropped him to fifth, although he still classified third among the rookies. Heuzenroeder secured a top-ten finish and his first points of the season. Strauven and Tarnvanichkul recovered from the back of the field to finish sixteenth and seventeenth respectively.
After this opening round, Powell leaves Paul Ricard fifth in the drivers’ standings with 27 points. Tarnvanichkul is eighth with 11 points, while Strauven and Heuzenroeder have 3 and 1 point respectively. In the teams’ standings, GriffinCore Campos Racing sits fourth with 40 points.
The next round of the championship will take place at the Algarve International Circuit on June 6–7.
