Emely De Heus overcomes qualifying setbacks to secure fourth top-20 finish in EuroCup-3

On her return to EuroCup-3, Emely De Heus faced an early setback in qualifying when a technical issue forced her to start from the back of the grid but, among a strong 26-car field, she kept it clean and steadily made her way up gaining eight places in race 1 to finish P17, thus securing her fourth top-20 finish in the series.

Photo credits: Fotocar13

Having contested the second and third rounds of the EuroCup-3 Championship at Red Bull Ring and Portimao, Emely De Heus returned to the Formula Regional-based series for her home round in Zandvoort. The young Dutchwoman continued to collect valuable track time in the upgraded Tatuus T318 car run in the series.

Amidst chaotic races, De Heus faced an early setback in qualifying when a technical issue forced her to start from the back of the ever-growing EuroCup-3 grid. Among a strong 26-car field, Emely kept it clean and steadily made her way up the order by seizing all opportunities in tricky mixed conditions, eventually gaining eight places in race 1 to finish P17, thus securing her fourth top-20 finish in the series.

Having missed the Paul Ricard round the previous week, De Heus rejoined the ranks of the Spanish squad GRS Team for the fifth round of the EuroCup-3 season at Circuit Zandvoort, which will also host the next race meeting of the all-female F1 Academy series. This was therefore important preparation for Emely's next F1 Academy commitment.

Rain during qualifying sessions played a determinant role in the race weekend, with mixed weather and incident-filled races rewarding clean and consistent performances. Thursday’s testing was in fact contested in sunny and dry conditions, but Friday's qualifying brought heavy rain, leaving little time for drivers to adapt to the conditions.

The two qualifying sessions were in fact heavily disrupted by red flags. In the early minutes of Q1, action was halted for an incident involving Victoria Blokhina. Shortly after, the session resumed but Emely De Heus experienced a mechanical issue and couldn't continue, ending up P25 in the first qualifying with no representative time set.

On Saturday morning, heavy rain again disrupted the second qualifying. After another early red flag and multiple stoppages, Emely was 24th fastest, with a time of 1:46.562.

Race 1 started behind the safety car due to a malfunction with the starting lights. Despite earlier rain, the track was mostly dry.

Javier Sagrera led from pole, followed by Bruno Del Pino, Nikola Tsolov, and Alexander Abkhazava. It would be Sagrera and Ho battling at the front in the opening lap. With Diaz failing to start, De Heus lined up in P24, but soon moved up one position on the first lap.

On lap 3, a massive shunt between Abkhazava and Shin brought out the red flag: the latter rolled multiple times in a violent crash in one of the fastest sections of the track, but drivers were luckily unhurt.

After a lengthy red flag period, the race restarted behind the safety car with rain now starting to fall. The safety car stayed out one more lap after Luciano Morano spun in deteriorating conditions, and when the green flag finally waved, the race length was shortened.

Emely De Heus moved up to P19 as Le Gallais gambled and pitted for wets; the strategy didn't work out, as the rain soon stopped.

Sagrera held off Ho and Del Pino, while Garrett Berry made up positions, passing both De Heus and Blokhina. Barry then dropped down again, and when Dario Cabanelas went off, the safety car was deployed once again with just over two minutes to go.

With a clean run, De Heus had managed to reach 18th place. The race ended under caution, with De Heus securing a top-20 finish in difficult conditions; after post-race penalties, she was further promoted to P17, making up eight places from her starting position.

Photo credits: Fotocar13

Emely De Heus lined up in P25 for race 2 - this time held in sunny conditions - and would have to fight her way up the field once again in order to close in on another top-20.

Pole-sitter Sagrera retained the lead from Del Pino and Kluss, but the race was soon under the safety car when Alexander Abkhazava went off into the barriers at turn 2.

De Heus gained one position, moving to P24, over the first lap. The race restarted at the end of lap 2, with Tangavelou and Kluss trading positions for third. Emely gained another position over Noah Lisle, then Emmo Fittipaldi went off in the gravel at turn 1 but rejoined just in front of the GRS racer.

Emely ran her best times, with her first laps under the 1:35 mark, but the recovering Lisle eventually passed her on lap 9. A big battle unfolded ahead between the MP Motorsport drivers, with Sagrera under pressure from Del Pino while Kluss, a second down the road, temporarily got closer during the fight for the lead.

On lap 13, De Heus further improved her personal best to 1:34.585, gaining over half a second on Gaspard Le Gallais ahead. She caught the Drivex racer and overtook him one lap later, advancing to P23.

Once ahead, she quickly pulled away and tried to close in on Zhuravski, almost three seconds up the road, but ultimately settled for P23 in a race that offered few opportunities to move up.

Javier Sagrera held off teammate Del Pino to take back-to-back victories, while Valentin Kluss survived late attacks from Owen Tangavelou to claim the final podium spot

With her fourth top-20 finish in a highly competitive field, Emely De Heus gained important experience and confidence at Zandvoort, one month ahead of the Dutch GP which will see the home driver returning behind the wheel of F4 machinery.

Meanwhile, the next EuroCup-3 round - the last before the summer break - will be held in two weeks’ time at MotorLand Aragón, Spain, on July 27-28.

Photo credits: Fotocar13