The winter championship came to an end this weekend with a round in Alcañiz where misfortune prevented GRS’s drivers from turning their potential and strong pace into points.
The third and final round of the EuroCup-3 Spanish Winter Championship took place on March 14–15. The magnificent MotorLand Aragón circuit hosted the season finale in a challenging weekend full of ups and downs. Although the drivers were faster and more competitive than in previous rounds, a series of setbacks, incidents, and penalties prevented this performance from being reflected in the race results.
GRS Team fielded the same driver pairing as in the other SWC rounds: Gianni Giovanelli and Yani Stevenheydens represented the team at a circuit they knew well. Along with the rest of the grid, they were able to accumulate valuable mileage during Friday’s running, gathering useful data ahead of the weekend.
The positive feelings were evident from the first qualifying session, held in wet track conditions. Both drivers achieved their best results of the season. Stevenheydens qualified P10, while Giovanelli finished 20th. For the Belgian driver, this result meant starting the Sprint Race from third place.
However, the team’s fortune worsened with the arrival of Race 1. Stevenheydens had a difficult start and dropped out of the Top 10. While attempting to recover positions, he made contact with another driver, which left him out of contention with a damaged car and resulted in a five-place grid penalty for Race 2 on Sunday. Giovanelli, meanwhile, delivered a strong performance, finishing 17th, his best result on the series so far.
The short time between Race 1 and the Sprint Race turned the repair of Yani’s car into a race against the clock. Our mechanics did an excellent job preparing the single-seater, but the car was not ready before the pit lane closed. As a result, the Belgian had to start the race from the pit lane, losing the golden opportunity created by the P3 grid position he had secured. Nevertheless, he managed to complete a solid recovery drive through the lower part of the field to finish P16. Giovanelli also delivered a consistent performance, showing good pace and competitiveness in the midfield, but track limits penalties ultimately dropped him to 24th position.
Sunday’s action brought the season to a close. In qualifying, track limits once again played a crucial role, affecting more than a third of the grid. Among the drivers who saw all their lap times deleted was Giovanelli. However, with so many drivers penalised, the Argentine still started Race 2 from 19th place despite the circumstances. Stevenheydens, meanwhile, once again excelled by qualifying P6, which meant he would start the race from 10th on the grid.
The Belgian remained inside the points-paying positions at the start of the race. While fighting to regain a place in the Top 10, a rival left him no space in a high-speed section, and Stevenheydens was unable to avoid contact, bringing his race to an end on the spot. Giovanelli also had a difficult race. Track limits once again caused problems for the Argentine, who eventually finished in P21.
With this, the weekend and the 2026 EuroCup-3 Spanish Winter Championship season come to an end. The arrival of the Dallara 326 has represented a step forward for the category in terms of competitiveness and on-track spectacle, and GRS has been able to take on the challenge with a satisfactory performance. It has been a season of ups and downs, in which the entire team has given its all to adapt to the new reality of the championship. Although the results have not always been ideal, the work carried out has been positive, and we conclude the winter season with a solid haul of points.
Now it is time to continue working in preparation for the main EuroCup-3 season. GRS faces a period of intense effort in order to arrive at the opening round of the championship, on May 2–3 at Paul Ricard, ready to be competitive from day one.
