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Euro RX3 Mid-Season Review: Nearly man no more?
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João Ribeiro has been a leading protagonist in the FIA European Rallycross Championship’s Euro RX3 category for the past few years – and the start to the current campaign suggests the Portuguese star could finally be about to shake of his ‘nearly man’ tag.
A pair of early podiums catapulted Ribeiro to fourth overall in 2022 – his first full season in the series. He was a front-running contender once more in 2023 before taking the title battle right down to the wire in 2024, notching up a brace of victories and two second-place finishes as he ultimately fell just five points short in his quest to clinch the coveted crown.
This year, the Baltar native is 15 points clear of his closest rival three rounds in, after popularly dominating proceedings on home soil at Lousada and again last time out at Nyirád, only being denied a shot at a hat-trick of triumphs by a puncture while leading his semi-final at Höljes.
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Of the 12 qualifying heats held thus far in 2025, Ribeiro has won seven – taking a clean sweep in the curtain-raising contest and missing out on a repeat performance in Hungary by a single thousandth-of-a-second.
He might have convincingly thrown down the gauntlet to his adversaries, but that does not mean the multiple Portuguese champion can afford to rest upon his laurels, however. With two rounds remaining, there are still 56 points in play, so while Ribeiro holds a healthy buffer at the summit of the standings, it is by no means insurmountable.
Fellow Audi driver Rytis Gurklys was a commanding winner in the torrential rain in Sweden, with the Lithuanian swiftly settling into Euro RX3 as he impressively gives chase to the championship leader during his maiden campaign on the international scene.
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Balázs Körmöczi is similarly in the mix in third – the Hungarian producing a characteristically feisty display to scoop the runner-up spoils on home turf at Nyirád – with fellow rising star Nicolas Geleyns right behind in fourth, the Antiguan teenager artfully conquering the challenging conditions at Höljes to reach the rostrum for the first time in his sophomore season at European level.
Such is the fiercely-fought nature of the class, that just three points separate the drivers occupying third to sixth positions in the title table, with consistent Czech ace Libor Teješ and Sámuel Kovács from Hungary hot on Körmöczi and Geleyns’ heels. The former is one of only two competitors – alongside Gurklys – to have advanced to the final in every round to-date, while the latter took the chequered flag third at both Lousada and Nyirád.
The action continues at Finland’s KymiRing on 23-24 August, before concluding at Istanbul Park in Türkiye four weeks later on 20-21 September.
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