Eurocup-3 rookie Victoria Blokhina secured her tenth top-20 finish of the season at the penultimate round in Jerez, following a solid weekend that saw the 17-year-old Drivex racer showing much-improved race pace.
Eurocup-3 rookie Victoria Blokhina secured her tenth top-20 finish of the season at the penultimate round in Jerez, following a solid weekend that saw the 17-year-old Drivex racer showing much-improved pace and battling in the pack in both races.
Blokhina, who made her debut in the Formula Regional-based Eurocup-3 championship this year after stepping up from Formula 4 competitions, has finished in the top-20 at every round so far, with a personal best of 16th at Portimao, which she equaled at Aragon last time out.
In the non-championship round at Motorland at the start of the year, she managed to finish eleventh, although the field of the series, now in its second season, has dramatically grown and has attracted some of the most exciting single-seater prospects in Europe. Eurocup-3 offers a more cost-effective alternative to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, using the same car with an updated aero kit. From an average of 15 entries in its first season, Eurocup-3 now has close to 30 entries, frequently attracting FRECA and FIA F3 drivers.
Blokhina, who has previously raced in Italian F4, F4 UAE, and select rounds of Spanish F4, joined the Drivex team for her first campaign in Formula Regional machinery. She has made steady progress, closing the gaps and battling inside the top-20 with determination all year, showing particular improvement in her race pace.
In the first practice session of the Jerez weekend - a technical track where it's often tricky to overtake on, Victoria finished 25th fastest, showing good improvement from her Friday testing times.
In the first qualifying session of the weekend on Saturday, her first representative time was a 1:40.772, placing her in P21, temporarily ahead of teammate Michael Belov - a driver with significant success in FRECA. Victoria then improved in the second and third sectors, ultimately finishing the session in P24 with a time of 1:40.078.
As the lights went out for Race 1 at Jerez, Bruno Del Pino stalled from the front row, with everyone avoiding the stranded car; Blokhina held her initial starting position of P24. In the opening laps, the field settled into a rhythm, and Blokhina dropped back to P25 as she found her footing in the early stages.
Despite falling a few seconds behind Linus Hellberg, Blokhina showed determination as she gradually closed the gap to the Swedish driver. Midway through the race, her pace improved significantly and she set competitive lap times, quicker than some of the cars ahead. This allowed her to capitalize on a mistake by Gaspard Le Gallais, who dropped down the order, promoting Blokhina to P24.
As the laps ticked down, Victoria’s consistent pace paid off; she executed a clean pass on Hellberg, moving up to P23 and gaining momentum in the second half of the race. Her times continued to improve as she chased down Emil Hellberg, the next car in front, reducing the gap by over three seconds in just a few laps.
With only minutes left on the clock, Blokhina was right on the tail of her rival, applying pressure and looking for any opportunity to make a move.
Though she couldn't quite complete the pass on Hellberg before the chequered flag, Blokhina finished the race in P22, showcasing a strong second-half of the race.
Victoria then made progress in the second qualifying on Sunday morning, improving by a full second from her previous session, clocking a 1:39.050 and securing P24 before a red flag ended the session prematurely.
At the start of Race 2, Bruno Del Pino led the field, but the action kicked off immediately behind him as several drivers jostled for position. Victoria made a quick move on Emil Hellberg, jumping up to P23. She remained engaged in a close battle with Linus Hellberg, both drivers taking advantage of Garrett Berry’s early pit stop due to damage, which allowed them to gain another position.
By the second lap, Blokhina had successfully overtaken Linus Hellberg, then her focus quickly shifted to Isaac Barashi, just a half-second ahead. Blokhina kept a tight margin to Barashi, lapping consistently under the 1:41 mark, indicating another step forward in her performance compared to the previous day.
As the race reached its mid point, Blokhina found herself defending against a resurgent Georgy Zhuravskiy, who was mounting a comeback through the field. Zhuravskiy eventually got past on lap 7, relegating Blokhina to P22 - but stayed within striking distance, keeping her times competitive.
In the final ten minutes, Blokhina managed to keep a safe buffer between herself and Linus Hellberg, who was trailing behind. Her efforts were rewarded when FIA F3 driver Nikola Tsolov encountered an issue, allowing her to move up to P21. As the race neared its conclusion, Jensen’s incident with Abkhazava brought out the yellow flags, and the race ended under caution.
Blokhina crossed the line in P20, marking another top-20 finish in a race that was largely uninterrupted by safety car periods.
"This weekend was not so easy", she commented, "just three hours of free practice and one FP and immediately to Q1. As the weekend progressed, I improved and corrected my mistakes. Track was not so easy, especially physically, but I was able to show a good pace in two races as a result!"
The weekend at Jerez was a challenging yet solid outing for Victoria Blokhina, as she continued to show improved race pace. Despite not having big results to show for it, her rookie campaign has been a very positive learning opportunity and, with the final round of the season at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on the horizon, Blokhina will aim to build on this experience to end her rookie Eurocup-3 season on a high note.
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