And at the end, there were three. After 14 races over seven rounds, Eurocup-3’s inaugural season is coming to a close this weekend, and we couldn’t have dreamt of a better scenario for a season finale. Ahead of the last two races of the season, Esteban Masson, Mari Boya and Sebastian Øgaard are still hoping to clinch the title, all separated by only 15 points. Feeder Series takes a look at the season finale.

By Grégoire Devaux

Launched this season with the long-term objective of being concurrent with well-established championships such as FRECA, Eurocup-3 can safely affirm that this inaugural edition was a huge success. Competing on well-known tracks like Spa, Monza, Zandvoort and Barcelona, where the season finale is held this weekend, the championship grew month by month, making it the ideal platform for promising drivers thanks to its self-affirmed reputation of ‘keeping the cost low’. 

French outfit Saintéloc Racing even joined the party mid-season, and we can expect even more teams for the 2024 edition. Throughout the eight rounds, a total of 29 drivers have competed in at least one race, while 11 of them have taken part in every single one. Ahead of the season finale at the prestigious Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, three drivers still hope for the title: Campos Racing’s Masson and MP Motorsport duo Boya and Øgaard.

Esteban Masson (P1, 217 points)

2021 French F4 champion Masson had a difficult 2022 season when he made the jump to FRECA. Competing with FA Racing before moving to ART Grand Prix in the middle of the season, he couldn’t do better than 24th place in the standings. Moving to Spanish outfit Campos Racing for the inaugural Eurocup-3 season was a bold move. Racing in a brand-new competition on mostly new tracks in a car that shared similarities with the FRECA car but still had its idiosyncracies was quite a lot to take into account. However, the French driver’s season has turned out to be close to idyllic.

Masson had stunning performances in round two at Aragon and round four at Zandvoort, where he took the win in all four races. However, if the French wunderkind is only one point ahead of Boya before the season finale, it also means that he suffered from some lows during the season.

Coming back from the mid-season break, round five at the Circuito de Jerez is undoubtedly one to forget for the Campos driver. At the heart of a thrilling battle with Francesco Braschi, Javier Sagrera, and FIA Formula 3 driver Nikola Tsolov, Masson crashed in lap four, putting an early end to a race in which important points were at stake. The second race of the weekend was the perfect opportunity for him to turn things around, but a nightmare weekend would prevent him from scoring any points, as contact with José Garfias forced him to retire for the second race in a row.

However, Masson managed to quickly erase the memory of an unfortunate weekend, as he stormed out to win the first race of round six in Estoril. With a complete dominance rarely seen this season so far, he won from pole position with the fastest lap to round up a perfect start to the weekend. 

The French driver unfortunately threw away what seemed to be a perfect weekend. After his three-second lead was vanished by an extended safety car during race two, Masson was sanctioned by a drive-through penalty for zigzagging after the restart. He finished 14th, far out of the points, and both his title rivals stood on top of the podium, with Boya winning over Øgaard, reducing his championship lead over Boya to five points.

Ahead of the season finale in Barcelona, Masson told Feeder Series, “I’m honestly not expecting anything because I’ve had so much bad luck this year, even though you wouldn’t know it from the excellent work we’ve been able to do with the team throughout the season. 

“I’m even surprised to be leading the championship at the last race. But we’re going to give it our all for one last time this year with the team, and we’ll have no regrets after a top season.”

Last time out, in Valencia, Masson and Boya both won a race each. The Campos driver struggled a bit more in the second race, finishing fifth and thus keeping only one point over Boya ahead of the season finale. 

“I really have a winning mindset so I’m approaching this weekend with the will to make the double pole and win both races,” the Campos driver told Feeder Series. “It’s ultimately the approach I take to every race, so I’m not going to change anything from my usual approach and go for the win.”

With one more round to go, the Frenchman is now ready to bring the title home. “I’ve never felt so ready to fight for a championship, I’m more than well surrounded and I have all the people I need with me to win this title at the end of the weekend,” he said.

Mari Boya (P2, 216 points)

Completing a double-season by driving with MP Motorsport in F3 and Eurocup-3, Boya has arguably had an even more impressive season. However, missing out on the drivers’ championship would probably have a bittersweet taste for the Spanish driver. Because Eurocup-3’s second round was held the same weekend as the third F3 round in Monaco, the MP driver had to withdraw from both races, despite his determination to perform double duty. 

Being only 1 point behind Masson with two fewer races, who knows where he would have been if his demands to take part in that round by making the trip in a helicopter were granted? 

From the very beginning of the season, Boya showed his experience and embraced his title favourite status by clinching pole in both races of round one in Spa. Masson got the best of him in race one, but the Spanish wunderkind clinched the first of three wins in a row at Spa’s second race. Absent for the second round, Boya did everything to catch up by taking both wins in a magical weekend at the temple of speed, Monza, in round three. 

In the last two rounds, the MP Motorsport talent equally shared the four wins with Masson, tying up the title race by only one point. Ahead of the season finale, Boya might start with a slight advantage, as he has already raced in Barcelona earlier this season in F3. 

Back then, he had his best result of the season, finishing seventh and ninth, a performance only beaten in the season finale in Monza. The experience and the potential data extracted from his race weekend might give him the edge. However, he still has to fight with his very talented rivals, one of them being his teammate.

Ahead of the season finale in Barcelona, Boya told Feeder Series about his hopes of keeping the momentum of the last few races. “I’m motivated for this final round. It’s very close, but I’m confident about the car and the improvement we made in the last races. Let’s see how it goes and if we can bring the title home.”

Sebastian Øgaard (P3, 202 points)

The Danish driver might be a bit late to the title fight, but he undoubtedly deserves to be named among the best drivers this season. Even though he’s third in the standings, Øgaard has been the most consistent driver of the season. Apart from finishing eight in the second race of round one, the MP driver has finished in the top five in every race of this season, as well as taking six podiums and an additional win. 

Before heading to Barcelona, the MP Motorsport driver told Feeder Series, “I really want to win the championship and I will do anything I can to make it happen.”

Øgaard will probably have regrets about not capitalising on his double pole position at round three in Monza, where Boya took both wins. However, the 2021 Spanish F4 runner-up got his maiden Eurocup-3 win in Jerez, taking advantage of Masson’s terrific weekend to close the gap and insert himself in a title fight that he hasn’t left since. However, as Øgaard didn’t expect to fight for the title until the late stage of this season, he doesn’t feel any pressure, as he told Feeder Series ahead of this season’s finale. 

“I feel no extra pressure or anything. With the position I am in I have nothing to lose and everything to win. I expected to fight for the championship this season so I’m really happy to be in a position where I can take the title if we maximize everything this weekend.”

Who’s the favourite?

At last season’s FRECA finale at the Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya, Masson struggled, reflecting his tough season. The French driver’s only racing experience in Barcelona saw him finish 19th and 22nd. Competing in FRECA again this season with French outfit Saintéloc Racing, Masson could have raced in Barcelona, where the second round of the season was held, but he didn’t take part in the race weekend. 

With his Spanish F4’s seasons, Øgaard has much more experience and will compete for the fourth time in Barcelona, having taken a win in the 2021 Spanish F4 season finale. His Spanish teammate has also raced three times in Barcelona, taking most notably three podiums in the Spanish F4 2020 season finale. 

The title fight is on, and one thing’s for sure: it will be one of the most exciting title fights in feeder series this season, going down to the very last round and the very last race.

Header photo credit: Eurocup-3