Dramatic Eurocup-3 opener delivers first win for Hitech
Round 1 - Paul Ricard - Report
Hitech’s debut weekend in Eurocup-3 delivered a high-intensity opening round defined by recovery drives, midfield battles and a race-long fight at the front, ultimately culminating in a first win of the season for Keanu Al Azhari in Race 3.
It was a weekend that swung between frustration and front-running pace but ended with a clear statement as the team leaves France with its first victory and solid points.
Race 1 – early setback, strong recovery
The opening race began with immediate drama when Keanu bogged down at the start from pole position, dropping from the front to the back of the field on the opening lap. From there, he produced a determined recovery drive through the pack to salvage P7 and valuable points.
Santino Panetta added further points with P10, while Stefan Bostandjiev finished P28 after a disrupted run. Gino Trappa retired following early contact.
Sprint Race – midfield battles and mixed fortunes
The Sprint Race brought another competitive showing, with Keanu once again working through traffic to finish P7 after a hard-fought race in the pack.
Panetta spent much of the race in a tight midfield group before coming home in P12, while Stefan recovered to P15 after early setbacks. Gino showed strong pace in the second half of the race, climbing back into contention before going off on the final lap while running in the points.
Race 3 – a race-long fight for victory
Starting from P5, Keanu immediately surged into the podium fight and ran as high as P3 on the opening lap.
A mid-race Safety Car reset the field and set up a straight fight at the front. Keanu and Egozi exchanged positions repeatedly in a sustained wheel-to-wheel battle, trading the lead multiple times.
In the closing stages of the race, Keanu made the decisive move, retaking the lead and holding firm to the flag to secure his first win of the main season.
Behind him, Gino Trappa delivered a strong drive to finish P6, while Santino Panetta completed a triple points-finish in P7. Stefan Bostandjiev came home in P19.
Keanu Al Azhari:
“What a result. I’m so thankful to the team. It was meant to be our weekend, and I let it slip away a little on Saturday, but we saw so many positives and that (Race 3) was such an incredible race.”
Keanu continued:
“Me and James (Egozi) had so much respect for each other on track and that was one of the best races I’ve had in a long time. I was so relaxed the whole time and I think we all enjoyed the show.”
Weekend summary
Hitech leaves Paul Ricard with a clear set of positives from its first Eurocup-3 weekend, including a race win and points scoring across the line-up.
More importantly, the team delivered an immediate statement: Hitech is already operating at the front in Eurocup-3.