Ribeiro cruises to victory in EuroRX3 ahead of Hungarian double podium

After Saturday’s two heats left Ribeiro with a slender but well-earned 10-point gap in the qualifying points, he fought in the remaining qualifying rounds this morning to maintain his advantage and even with Gurklys breathing down his neck throughout Sunday morning Ribeiro firmly placed his Audi A1 on pole position for the final. Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for Senegacik who suffered damage in the second semi-final which ultimately robbed him of a position in the final in what was otherwise a strong and promising weekend for the Austrian.

Hope of home success initially begun to dwindle on Sunday morning as Q3 saw Levente Kacor dramatically flip onto his roof after contact with fellow Hungarian Tamás Végh. However, with the passionate and vocal crowd giving their local drivers an audible boost around every corner of the circuit, as we reached the all-important final it became clear that Budapest-born drivers Balázs Körmöczi and Samuel Kovacs carried their hopes for a Hungarian podium as they started P3 and P5 respectively.

Just as the thermostats at Nyirád hit 30 degrees, we got underway with the hotly contested EuroRX3 final that could define the course of the remainder of the 2025 championship. Ribeiro knew a dominant performance could open a gap for him in the standings heading into Round 4 in Finland, whilst Gurklys was fighting to claim the top of the Championship standings at the midpoint of the EuroRX3 season.

The final saw an initially close competition with a textbook start from Gurkyls putting his bumper ahead going into Turn 1. However, the race quickly started to turn against the Lithuanian as he slipped into third place giving Tuma provisional second. As Tuma opted to risk the undercut and take a first lap Joker, the crowd begun to sense opportunity as Gurkyls spun giving the Hungarian duo provisional second and third place.

As the race progressed Ribero continued to record unmatched lap times, extending his lead out front. Meanwhile the amphitheatre layout of this circuit begun to fill with the sound of the crowd, their horns and cheers expressing their hope and encouragement toward Körmöczi and Kovacs.

The expectant crowd had to wait until the final lap to see if Tuma’s undercut Joker tactic had worked and as both home drivers darted into the Joker section on their last laps fans could begin sensing a potential double podium in sight. Their masterful cornering allowed them to indeed maintain second and third place as they exited the joker and guided their cars to the finish line to the roar and delight of the Nyirád crowd.

After completing the six laps of the final Ribeiro crossed the line and took the chequered flag in style to seal a pitch-perfect weekend for the 41-year-old driver. After already extending his lead in the Championship in Hungary, his victory in the final opens up a 15-point gap in the standings.

As the crowd begins to leave the Nyirád Racing Centre this evening it will surely be the double Hungarian podium bringing them delight after such a fiercely contested final and with a home win in the EuroRX1 final, this weekend has demonstrated yet again how strong Rallycross is in Hungary.

João Ribeiro said: “I love this track, I love these people, it's one of my favourite tracks! It’s my fourth time here, and I’m so happy with this result. Also, for the championship, it was a good result, in these cars the championship is always very tight, and I think today I will start to make the difference from my side. I'm so happy to win almost all the heats and in the end the final too!”

Balázs Körmöczi said: “I think where we finished was the best that I could do. The start was for me really bad, I think I was the fourth, but we were able to make some overtakes and made it back up to second place. Then Ribeiro was too far for me. Still, this is an amazing venue, our home and everybody wants the Hungarian guys to win! At the end we're in second place, but I think everybody was still happy!”

Samuel Kovacs said: “For the racing it was the best job, so the car was amazing. Yesterday we had some mechanical issue, but the guys did an amazing job – they were up until 11pm and thanks to them the car worked very well today. Even better, we were able to make P3 – yesterday we wouldn't dream about a result like this! So, we are quite happy that the two Hungarians are on the podium in Hungary in EuroRX – that's amazing. I love racing here, I love the track, the fans, and I'm pretty grateful to them, everybody – my friends, the fans, my family, my brother, everybody is important!”

Round 4 of the Euro RX3 Championship will take place in Finland over 23-24 August 2025.

Click here to view the final classification from EuroRX of Hungary.

Click here to view the provisional championship standings.