2026 | FREC | Zandvoort | Qualifying 2 | Nakamura-Berta claims pole, Wheldon tops Group B

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After claiming pole position in Saturday’s Qualifying 1 session and converting it into his maiden FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) victory in Race 1 in Zandvoort, Sebastian Wheldon continued his strong form at Zandvoort by once again topping Group B’s qualifying times on Sunday morning in Qualifying 2. However, despite Wheldon’s pace in Group B, it was Kean Nakamura-Berta who secured overall pole position for Race 2 after setting the fastest time in Group A, with the session briefly disrupted by a red flag caused by Gabriel Gomez crashing into the barriers.

2026 FREC: Zandvoort: Qualifying 2: Group B: Wheldon tops the timings in Group B

With Group B heading out early on Sunday morning, the opening laps of the session were largely focused on building tyre temperature and laying rubber down around the Zandvoort circuit. As confidence grew and the drivers continued to improve lap after lap, the pace quickly ramped up across the field.

Sebastian Wheldon had an early scare after locking up into Turn 3 and sliding wide into the banking, although he managed to keep his MP Motorsport machinery out of the barriers and continue without damage.

With six minutes remaining, the first representative lap times started to arrive. Hanna was the first driver to break into the 1:30s with a 1:30.966, before Wheldon moved to the top on a 1:30.711. Anurag slotted into P2 shortly after, but was then displaced by Przyrowski.

Przyrowski was next to rise to the top of the standings, edging ahead of Wheldon with a 1:30.600 as the battle for pole intensified.

Wheldon responded immediately on his next push lap, setting a purple first sector before jumping back to the top of the timings with a 1:30.208. Munoz and Rashid Al Dhaheri slotted into P2 and P3 respectively, before Al Dhaheri improved again on his following lap to move into second, while Chi climbed into third as the order continued to shuffle late in the session.

There was a pit lane incident between Roussel and Saeter which will be investigated after the session.

Group B Results: Top 10

#98 Sebastian Wheldon – MP Motorsport – +1.30.208
#71 Rashid Al Dhaheri – R-ace GP – +0.069
#28 Zhenrui Chi – MP Motorsport – +0.132
#95 Alexandre Munoz – ART Grand Prix – +0.191
#15 Alexander Abkhazava – MP Motorsport – +0.338
#8 Jan Przyrowski – RPM – +0.380
#24 Jules Roussel – CL Motorsport – +0.384
#88 Salim Hanna – PREMA Racing – +0.490
#19 Kabir Anurag – ART Grand Prix – +0.541
#12 Yuki Sano – R-ace GP – +0.561

2026 FREC: Zandvoort Qualifying 2: Group A: A brief Red Flag sees Nakamura-Berta back on top

With the track temperature continuing to rise, the Group A drivers headed out looking to maximise the improving conditions and secure a strong grid position. Kean Nakamura-Berta was the first driver to set a representative lap time, with Štolcermanis initially slotting in just behind him.

Seewooruthun then moved up into P2 as the lap times rapidly began to tumble, although Popov soon displaced him after jumping to the top of the standings.

However, with 6.5 minutes remaining, Gabriel Gomez crashed into the barriers, bringing out the red flag and temporarily halting Qualifying Group A. Race control also deleted his fastest lap for causing the stoppage.

Once the session resumed, Nakamura-Berta immediately returned to the top of the timings, going faster than Sebastian Wheldon’s benchmark from Group B to secure provisional pole position. Francot moved up into P2, finishing 0.44s behind Nakamura-Berta’s leading time.

The session came to a close under yellow flag conditions after Rahim Alibhai collided with the wall at Turn 8, ending the final runs for the Group A drivers.