The Frenchman left no chances for his rivals and claimed the title in dominant fashion. Sathienthirakul finished second on the podium twice and secured key points for Campos Racing in the fight for the teams’ standings
Campos Racing and Esteban Masson secured the titles of the inaugural 2023 Eurocup-3 Championship season, whose curtain was brought down at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend. Masson arrived in Barcelona on top, a single point clear of Mari Boya. But the young French talent mastered the weekend and, alongside Tasanapol Inthaphuvasak, wrapped off the season in style. Thai Inthraphuvasak stepped onto the podium in second place twice. Francesco Braschi took a good haul of points to finish in the top-5 in the standings and Suleiman Zanfari made it in the top-ten on Saturday.
Masson made a stunning start in both free practice sessions as he led the way for Campos Racing in his Tatuus machinery with lap times of 1m36.160s and 1m36.308s. Later in qualifying, the Frenchman managed to translate the excellent prospects in a pole position. Masson clocked a lap time of 1m36.200s, almost half-a-second quicker than his teammate Inthraphuvasak, who sealed an all-Campos Racing front start with his best effort of 1m36.698s. Besides, Masson took an extra point for pole position. Braschi qualified in 6th place with a lap time of 1m36.854s and Moroccan Zanfari posted a best lap of 1m37.486s and set to start from 12th.
Saturday’s Race 1 took place in the afternoon and Masson was a man on a mission: to score as many points as possible to stretch his first place in the standings. When the lights went out, Masson retained the lead ahead of Inthraphuvasak. Masson’s pace was quicker than anyone else and he pulled away with Inthraphuvasak also solidly running in second place. By the middle of the race, Masson had built a gap of 4 seconds on Inthraphuvasak and the Thai was out of reach for his rivals as well. After 19 laps, Masson took the checkered flag in first place taking another extra point thanks to the fastest lap of the race. Inthraphuvasak crossed the finish line in second place. Braschi got involved in lively battles and rounded out the top-5. Zanfari took the checkered flag in ninth place.
On Sunday, Masson pushed to maintain the top form and stormed to another pole position in Q2 putting together a lap of 1m36.310s. Another extra point and Inthraphuvasak secured locked out another front row for Campos Racing by setting a best lap of 1m36.571s. Further adrift, Braschi took 7th-fastest in the timesheets with a lap time of 1m36.977s and Zanfari rounded out the top-ten with a lap of 1m37.342s.
Masson and Inthraphuvasak kept their rivals at bay at the start. Braschi and Zanfari were unluckier as the Italian driver dropped to 11th and the Moroccan young ace was forced to retire after contact with a rival at T1. Masson and Inthraphuvasak led the pack for the entire race. Despite two safety cars, both drivers in Campos Racing colors kept everything under control. After 16 laps, Masson crossed the finish line to secure his 8th win of the season and a well-deserved title for the whole team. Inthraphuvasak brough a second 1-2 finish home and was his best weekend of the season. Braschi finally finished in 9th place after putting a remarkable recovery drive in the second part of the race.
After 8 events, Masson is the first Eurocup-3 Champion on 273 points with 8 wins and two other podium finishes. Italian Braschi finished 5th overall with two triumphs and four rostrums to his name. Inthraphuvasak finally took 6th place with an excellent final rush including four podiums. Zanfari ended in 9th place in the standings with a second place among the rookies. Last but not least, Campos Racing finished on top of the teams’ standings.
The preparation for 2024 has just started in the best possible way. Stay tuned and see you soon!
