Race Report RU1, RU2 & RU3 | Event 4

2026 RU1, RU2 & RU3 CHAMPIONSHIP | RACE REPORT | EVENT 4

Date: 27 May 2026

Location: Zurich City / Madrid / Munich

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RU1 | ROUND 4 | IMOLA (ITALY)

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PODIUM RESULTS: P1 Coque López | P2 Siro Zambra | P3 Janik Pletscher

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Coque Lopez strengthened his grip on the 2026 RU1 Championship with a commanding performance at the iconic Imola circuit on Sunday.

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After suffering heartbreak at the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps — where two incidents with title rival Siro Zambra cost him victory following lengthy deliberation by the stewards — Lopez responded in perfect fashion at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

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The Spaniard arrived at the weekend playing down his chances, even tipping Zambra as the favourite following the Swiss driver’s impressive pace in practice.

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Lopez edged out fellow Madrid driver Enrique Maranon to secure pole position, while Zambra — fastest during lounge practice — endured a scruffy qualifying session and could only manage seventh on the grid.

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When the lights went out, Lopez made the perfect start and quickly established control at the front of the field.

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Behind him, Janik Pletscher made rapid early progress to move into second, jumping ahead of Maranon and Matias Orjuela, who had secured his strongest qualifying performance of the season with third on the grid.

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However, drama followed early on. An over-optimistic move from Orjuela triggered contact that sent both himself and Maranon tumbling down the order, promoting Zambra into third after the Zurich City driver had already fought his way past Mario Stanic.

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While two of the three RU1 title contenders settled into the top three, championship contender Michal Smidl endured his most difficult event of the season, dropping to the back of the field after a difficult opening lap.

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As Smidl began charging back through the field, Zambra started his pursuit of Pletscher for second. The pair ran side-by-side through Tamburello before Zambra completed the move with a well-timed use of push-to-pass.

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Despite Zambra’s recovery drive - and fastest lap of the race - Lopez’s advantage proved too much to overcome, with the Spaniard controlling the rest of the race to claim another victory.

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Lopez’s latest win at Imola gives him a nine-point advantage over Zambra heading into the summer break. Smidl could only recover to eighth and now sits 21 points behind Lopez in the standings, while Pletscher’s second podium finish of the season moves him into fourth overall, 16 points behind Smidl.

RU2 | ROUND 4 | IMOLA (ITALY)

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PODIUM RESULTS: P1 Néstor García | P2 Tim Potzmader  | P3 Norik Lehocki

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Néstor García’s perfect run finally came to an end at Imola as Tim Potzmader secured an impressive victory.

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Heading into Round 4, García had been unbeaten across the opening three races, building a commanding 36-point advantage over Potzmader in the standings.

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Potzmader produced a stunning qualifying lap to beat Norik Lehocki to pole position by just 0.050 seconds.

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However, unlike at Spa last time out, Potzmader knew maintaining the lead on Lap 1 would be critical to his chances of victory given the difficulty of overtaking at Imola.

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At lights out, Potzmader immediately covered off Lehocki and was braver on the brakes into Turn 1 to hold the lead.

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Behind them, Patrick Dubach retained third ahead of Jamie Egeo, who once again impressed after a strong qualifying performance.

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The top three quickly broke clear of the rest of the field as García looked to recover from his most difficult qualifying session of the season.

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After settling into a rhythm, García made light work of Guzman Miguelez and David Wuethrich to break into the top five.

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With the top three cemented — Potzmader ahead of Lehocki and Dubach — García gained one final position before the chequered flag, overtaking Egeo to secure fourth.

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Potzmader’s first victory of the season reduces García’s championship lead to 23 points heading into the summer break.

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Lehocki remains firmly in title contention, sitting 16 points behind Potzmader after securing his third podium finish of the season.

RU3 | ROUND 3 | HOCKENHEIMRING GP & NURBURGRING GP

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RACE 1 PODIUM RESULTS: P1 Julian Ammann | P2 Unai Maroto | P3 David Sobreiro

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RACE 2 PODIUM RESULTS: P1 Unai Maroto | P2 Julian Ammann | P3  David Sobreiro

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The 2026 RU3 Spring Championship drew to a dramatic close after an epic three-way title fight between Unai Maroto, David Sobreiro and Julian Ammann.

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The opening race at the Hockenheimring went the way of Ammann, who beat Maroto by just 0.3 seconds at the chequered flag to keep his title hopes alive.

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Sobreiro’s third-place finish at Hockenheim meant he held a 12-point advantage over Maroto heading into the final race of the championship at the Nürburgring.

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The Portuguese driver knew second place would be enough to secure the title, even if Maroto went on to win.

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Maroto, however, was in a league of his own in the deciding race, dominating from pole position after showing lightning pace throughout practice.

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Despite Maroto controlling the race at the front, the championship remained firmly in Sobreiro’s hands. The Portuguese driver found himself locked in a tense battle for second with Ammann and Benjamin Jimenez Klier.

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Heading onto the tenth and final lap of both the race — and the championship — Sobreiro sat third, directly behind Klier.

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Knowing third place would not be enough to secure the title, Sobreiro went on the attack. The TC Esports driver attempted a late move into the final chicane, but Klier moved under braking, sending both drivers wide.

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The incident opened the door for Ammann to snatch second place, while Sobreiro could only recover to third.

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The contact ultimately proved decisive, with Maroto securing the 2026 RU3 Spring Championship on countback, taking the title with three victories to Sobreiro’s two.

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It’s not all lost for Sobreiro and Ammann, who like Maroto, will race in RU2 – the next step up in the RU Esports Series ecosystem – for the second half of the season.

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The RU3 Fall Championship will kick off in October, with Qualifiers for Round 1 taking place from October 7.