Stage starts in
Round 2 — Portimão – June 5–7, 2026
“I’ve been to Portimão before during the winter season and I really liked the circuit — it’s technical and demands precision all the time. Paul Ricard was a tough first contact with the level of the main championship. I made mistakes, I learned. At Portimão I want to apply everything we worked on with the team, and I hope the fact that I already know the circuit will make a difference.” — Luca Viișoreanu
Unlike Paul Ricard, where everything was new and the pressure of the first championship weekend was high, Portimão comes with familiarity. Luca raced here during the 2026 Spanish Winter Championship and already knows exactly what awaits beyond every blind corner.
And at Portimão, that matters more than anywhere else.
The Algarve circuit is unlike anything else on the Eurocup-3 calendar. There are no long straights to breathe, no flat sections where the car behaves predictably. Built across the hills surrounding Portimão and inaugurated in 2008, the circuit measures 4.684 km, features 15 corners, and includes 60 meters of elevation change — dramatic uphill and downhill sections that turn every lap into a constant synchronization between driver and machine.
Turn 1 is perhaps the perfect example: a blind downhill corner taken at high speed, where you cannot see the exit while braking. You commit based purely on trust — trust in the racing line, in the car, and in yourself. It’s the kind of moment that separates drivers who know the circuit from those discovering it for the first time.
Luca already knows it.
The lessons from Paul Ricard were clear: lap consistency, corner-entry technique, and racecraft in wheel-to-wheel situations became the main areas the team and driver focused on between rounds. At Portimão, all of it will be tested on a circuit that amplifies every mistake — but rewards precision and bravery just as generously.
- Commitment through blind corners and downhill sections with no visibility — drivers enter purely on trust in the line
- Continuous flow — every corner prepares the next one, with no real breathing zones
- Reading elevation changes — the hills constantly affect the car’s balance and behavior
- Clean racing without penalties — discipline on track is just as important as outright pace
- Tire management — the abrasive surface generates heavy tire degradation
Weekend Schedule
Monday, June 2 – Thursday, June 4
Official Collective Testing
Mandatory preparation sessions on track — physical attendance required for all championship drivers.
Friday, June 5 — Practice + Qualifying
- Free Practice
- Qualifying 1 (20 minutes) — grid for Race 1
Saturday, June 6 — Race + Qualifying
- Race 1 (30 minutes + 1 lap)
- Sprint Race (20 minutes + 1 lap — reverse Top 12 grid)
- Qualifying 2 (20 minutes) — grid for Race 2
Sunday, June 7 — Final Race
- Race 2 (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Portimão is the first round of the main season where Luca arrives with a concrete advantage over part of the grid. The experience gained during the winter series, combined with the work completed alongside the team after Paul Ricard, makes this weekend an important step in his development throughout the 2026 Eurocup-3 campaign.
- Qualifying inside the Top 15 — the main target of the weekend. The pace shown in Race 2 at Paul Ricard proved that the Top 15 threshold is achievable
- Applying the driving technique developed with the team — late entry, apex rotation, early throttle application — consistently from lap to lap
- Clean and complete races — every properly finished kilometer builds the experience needed for the season ahead
“I know that after Paul Ricard everyone is watching us to see what we do next. I look at qualifying — I want to break into the Top 10. It’s the kind of circuit where, if you are precise and brave at the same time, you can achieve something special. I hope we all enjoy the weekend.” — Luca Viișoreanu
Live Streaming: eurocup3.org
Social Media: Follow @lucaviisoreanu on Instagram for live paddock updates from the circuit
ROUND REPORT
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy race. We started from the middle of the pack, the launch wasn’t bad and we gained a few positions, but by lap three we lost everything back. Then we had a safety car and lost pace… overall, it was quite a difficult race.” — Luca Viișoreanu
The opening round of the 2026 Eurocup-3 main season at Circuit Paul Ricard ended with a mixed weekend: promising qualifying sessions that confirmed the potential, and difficult races that clearly showed the road to the front of the field will require intense work in the months ahead.
The first positive signal of the weekend came during the official collective test, where the car finished P18 with a lap time of 1:56.797 — 1.634 seconds off the fastest time. The progress continued through qualifying day:
- In Qualifying 1, Luca secured P19 with a 1:56.412 (+1.228 from pole)
- In Qualifying 2, he improved to P17 with a 1:56.093 (+1.191 from pole)
It was the best qualifying result of the weekend and reduced the gap to the leader to under 1.2 seconds, showing clear potential to get even closer.
Race 1 proved difficult. Luca finished P19. Race pace did not match the qualifying performance, and managing wheel-to-wheel situations required important adjustments.
Sprint Race
The Sprint Race brought another difficult scenario — a 10-second penalty resulted in a P25 finish. The weekend clearly highlighted that racecraft and on-track battle management are the main development areas for the upcoming period.
Race 2
Race 2, however, delivered the real positive signal of the weekend. Luca finished P15 — his best race result of the weekend — setting a personal fastest lap of 1:57.332 and showing that experience gained throughout the weekend, together with the lessons from team debriefings, were starting to translate into performance.
Final Results — Race 2
- Official Test: P18 — 1:56.797 (+1.634)
- Qualifying 1: P19 — 1:56.412 (+1.228)
- Qualifying 2: P17 — 1:56.093 (+1.191)
- Race 1: P19
- Sprint Race: P25
- Race 2: P15 — best result of the weekend
The first main championship weekend delivered exactly what it was supposed to deliver: a real benchmark against 30 world-class drivers. Qualifying showed that the speed is there. The races showed that converting this speed into consistent and clean results is the next mandatory step. The penalties collected over the weekend are real lessons from which both the team and driver will learn before Portimão.
Luca Viișoreanu remains the only Romanian driver competing in Eurocup-3 2026, continuing to represent Romania at the highest level of European junior single-seater racing.
“The last race wasn’t a bad one; it could have been better, but I think I gave everything I had on track. The start wasn’t ideal. I made a small mistake on the formation lap, but the race itself and the performance throughout the race were quite good.” — Luca Viișoreanu