2026 | FREC | Spa-Francorchamps | Collective Tests | Olivieri leads Thursday running as Spa weekend begins

Emanuele Olivieri gave R-ace GP the early advantage as the third round of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) got underway at Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday.

The Italian rookie topped the second Collective Test session with a 2:14.475, which proved the fastest lap of the day. His benchmark placed him 0.178s clear of Sebastian Wheldon’s session-one best and 0.130s ahead of the championship leader in the afternoon classification.

Across both sessions, the field remained tightly matched around the Belgian Grand Prix venue. Wheldon set the pace in the opening test for MP Motorsport, while Olivieri responded in the afternoon to end Thursday on top overall.

2026 FREC Round 3: Spa-Francorchamps: Collective Test 1: Wheldon sets the early benchmark

To begin with, Wheldon led the opening Collective Test session as he started the Spa weekend from the top of the timesheets. The MP Motorsport driver arrived in Belgium as the championship leader after taking a commanding double victory at Zandvoort, and he immediately showed strong pace around the 7.004km circuit.

The American posted a 2:14.653 on lap nine of 24, emerging as the quickest driver in the session. CL Motorsport’s Reno Francot followed in second, finishing 0.152s adrift, while PREMA Racing’s Kean Nakamura-Berta completed the top three, just 0.209s away from Wheldon’s benchmark.

Meanwhile, Marcus Saeter led the rookie runners for G4 Racing. The Norwegian finished fourth overall with a 2:14.881, placing him narrowly ahead of Olivieri, who ended the session fifth for R-ace GP.

Alexandre Munoz placed sixth overall and third among the rookies for ART Grand Prix. Rashid Al Dhaheri followed in seventh for R-ace GP, ahead of RPM’s Jan Przyrowski, ART Grand Prix’s Matteo Giaccardi and Trident Motorsport’s Kai Daryanani.

The opening session underlined the competitiveness of the field, with the top 18 drivers covered by just 0.934s.

Collective Test 1 results

1. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): 2:14.653
2. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.152
3. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.209
4. #67 Marcus Saeter (G4 Racing): +0.228
5. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP): +0.274
6. #95 Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix): +0.437
7. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.452
8. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.554
9. #27 Matteo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.582
10. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +0.587
11. #9 Thomas Strauven (CL Motorsport): +0.596
12. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.608
13. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.664
14. #33 Maksimilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.762
15. #3 Saqer Almaosherji (G4 Racing): +0.795
16. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +0.823
17. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): +0.828
18. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.934
19. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +1.018
20. #11 Francisco Macedo (Van Amersfoort Racing): +1.089
21. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): +1.180
22. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +1.198
23. #47 Andrija Kostic (Trident Motorsport): +1.207
24. #78 Gabriel Gomez (Rodin Motorsport): +1.382
25. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +1.554
26. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +1.561
27. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +1.601
28. #60 Tomass Stolcermanis (PREMA Racing): +1.647
29. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +1.819
30. #23 Rahim Alibhai (G4 Racing): +1.956

2026 FREC Round 3: Spa-Francorchamps: Collective Test 2: Olivieri moves R-ace GP to the top

In contrast, the second session produced the day’s fastest time. Olivieri improved on his morning effort and moved R-ace GP to the top with a 2:14.475 on lap 14 of 15.

Wheldon remained among the pace-setters and ended the afternoon second fastest, 0.130s behind Olivieri. Nakamura-Berta also continued his consistent start to the weekend, backing up his third place from the opening session with another third-place finish in the afternoon.

MP Motorsport then placed two more cars inside the top five. Alexander Abkhazava finished fourth with a 2:14.785, while Zhenrui Chi followed in fifth, 0.371s off the fastest time.

Francot continued his strong Thursday form in sixth for CL Motorsport, having already finished second in the morning. Francisco Macedo followed in seventh for Van Amersfoort Racing, ahead of Przyrowski in eighth for RPM.

Further back, Rodin Motorsport completed the top 10 with Alex Ninovic in ninth and rookie Gabriel Gomez in 10th. Notably, the top 26 drivers finished within 0.978s of Olivieri’s benchmark, highlighting how close the Spa field remained before Friday’s competitive running.

Collective Test 2 results

1. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP): 2:14.475
2. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): +0.130
3. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.258
4. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +0.310
5. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): +0.371
6. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.424
7. #11 Francisco Macedo (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.533
8. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.569
9. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.576
10. #78 Gabriel Gomez (Rodin Motorsport): +0.584
11. #33 Maksimilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.588
12. #95 Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix): +0.630
13. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.632
14. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.669
15. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): +0.676
16. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +0.748
17. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +0.755
18. #27 Matteo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.756
19. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.782
20. #67 Marcus Saeter (G4 Racing): +0.854
21. #9 Thomas Strauven (CL Motorsport): +0.864
22. #60 Tomass Stolcermanis (PREMA Racing): +0.894
23. #3 Saqer Almaosherji (G4 Racing): +0.895
24. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.938
25. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +0.968
26. #47 Andrija Kostic (Trident Motorsport): +0.978
27. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +1.063
28. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +1.187
29. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +1.553
30. #23 Rahim Alibhai (G4 Racing): +1.690

Olivieri leads a close field into Friday

Following both Collective Test sessions, Olivieri ended Thursday fastest overall, with Wheldon second and Nakamura-Berta third. The result gave R-ace GP the headline pace, while MP Motorsport showed depth with three cars inside the top five in the afternoon.

However, the small margins suggest Friday could prove highly competitive. Wheldon, Francot and Nakamura-Berta all showed consistent pace across both sessions, while Olivieri and Saeter led a strong rookie presence near the front.

Track action resumes on Friday with a 50-minute Free Practice session at 09:40 CEST. Then, Qualifying 1 will take place at 14:45 CEST, with the field once again split into Groups A and B.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Olivieri gave R-ace GP the strongest possible start to the Spa weekend by topping Thursday’s overall order. Wheldon still looked firmly in contention for MP Motorsport, while Nakamura-Berta, Francot, Abkhazava and Chi kept their respective teams near the front.

Nevertheless, with 26 drivers covered by less than a second in the afternoon, Thursday only offered an early glimpse of the competitive order. Therefore, qualifying will likely prove decisive as FREC prepares for its first racing action of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.