Rodin Motorsport’s Martin Molnar and VRD Racing’s Nikita Bedrin claimed the first GB3 Championship pole positions at the Red Bull Ring during Saturday morning’s two-part Qualifying session.
Molnar led a Rodin front-row lockout in Qualifying 1 after beating Maxim Rehm by only 0.067s with a 1m24.539s. Bedrin then produced the fastest lap of the weekend in Qualifying 2, recording a 1m24.345s to secure his fourth consecutive Race 2 pole by 0.320s.
2026 GB3: Red Bull Ring: Qualifying 1: Molnar leads Rodin front-row lockout
Molnar continued his strong Qualifying form after taking the first pole position of his GB3 career at his home round at the Hungaroring one week earlier.
The Hungarian moved to the front with a 1m24.539s and held on as the field completed its final attempts around the Austrian Grand Prix venue. His performance earned him a second successive Race 1 pole and placed him in a strong position to pursue his first victory of the season.
Rehm completed Rodin Motorsport’s front-row lockout after finishing only 0.067s behind his team-mate. The German had shown consistent pace throughout pre-event testing and converted that performance into his strongest possible starting position for Saturday afternoon’s race.
Bedrin took third for VRD Racing, only 0.045s behind Rehm. The championship leader therefore qualified third in a Race 1 grid-setting session for the third consecutive round, although he remained within 0.112s of Molnar’s benchmark.
Behind the leading trio, Rowan Campbell-Pilling delivered his best Qualifying performance of the campaign for Xcel Motorsport. The British driver secured fourth with a 1m24.772s and will share the second row with Bedrin.
Thursday testing pace-setter Deagen Fairclough followed in fifth for Hitech. The British driver entered Qualifying hoping to recover from his two retirements at the Hungaroring, but he finished 0.338s away from pole and 0.105s behind Campbell-Pilling.
Kyuho Lee also recorded his best Qualifying result of the season by placing sixth for Elite Motorsport. He finished 0.427s behind Molnar and secured a place on the third row alongside Fairclough.
Lucas Fluxá claimed seventh for Xcel Motorsport, while Patricio Gonzalez put the second VRD Racing car eighth. Abbi Pulling finished ninth in the third Rodin entry after topping Friday’s final test session.
Dante Vinci completed the top 10 for Hillspeed. The Australian had remained inside the top five on both days of testing but could not maintain that position in Qualifying 1, finishing 0.702s behind Molnar.
However, the order remained closely matched throughout the field. Only 0.706s separated the first 11 drivers, while less than one second covered Molnar through Ricardo Baptista in 17th.
Race 1 will begin at 14:25 local time on Saturday.
Qualifying 1 – Full Results (Provisional)
- #2 Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport: 1m24.539s
- #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.067s
- #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: +0.112s
- #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.233s
- #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.338s
- #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +0.427s
- #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.478s
- #21 Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing: +0.509s
- #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: +0.556s
- #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.702s
- #22 Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing: +0.706s
- #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +0.790s
- #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +0.809s
- #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.834s
- #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +0.854s
- #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +0.866s
- #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +0.959s
- #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +1.183s
- #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.669s
2026 GB3: Red Bull Ring: Qualifying 2: Bedrin continues perfect Race 2 pole run
After missing the front row in Qualifying 1, Bedrin responded with a commanding performance during the second 15-minute session.
Several drivers initially exchanged the fastest time as the circuit continued to evolve. However, Bedrin established a clear advantage inside the final five minutes with a 1m24.345s, the quickest lap recorded across testing and Qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.
The VRD Racing driver finished 0.320s ahead of Molnar to secure his fifth pole position of the season. More importantly, Bedrin maintained his perfect record in the Race 2 grid-setting sessions, having now taken four consecutive Qualifying 2 poles.
Molnar backed up his opening-session pole with second place in Qualifying 2. His 1m24.665s secured his best overall Qualifying result of the campaign and ensured that he will start both of the weekend’s main races from the front row.
Fluxá delivered Xcel Motorsport’s strongest performance of the morning by taking third. The Spaniard recorded a 1m24.754s and secured his first top-three Qualifying result of the season after claiming two podium finishes at the Hungaroring.
Campbell-Pilling continued his impressive morning by placing fourth for the second consecutive session. He finished only 0.030s behind his team-mate, giving Xcel Motorsport control of the second row for Race 2.
Rehm completed the top five but could not repeat his Qualifying 1 front-row result. The Rodin driver finished 0.499s behind Bedrin and 0.060s away from Campbell-Pilling.
Vinci improved to sixth after his more difficult opening session. His 1m24.909s placed him 0.564s behind Bedrin and gave Hillspeed its highest position in either part of Qualifying.
Pulling and Patricio Gonzalez followed in seventh and eighth respectively, with only 0.003s separating the pair. Lee claimed ninth for Elite Motorsport, while Fairclough completed the top 10 another 0.002s behind.
Fairclough therefore ended Qualifying with fifth and 10th-place starting positions despite leading the combined testing order on Thursday. Meanwhile, Friday pace-setter Bedrin will begin Race 1 from third before moving to pole for Race 2.
Leon Wilson took 11th for Arden Motorsport ahead of Rodrigo Gonzalez and Peter Bouzinelos. Aurelia Nobels, Baptista and Lewis Gilbert followed, while Jacob Micallef, Yuhao Fu and Flynn Jackes completed the order.
Qualifying 2 – Full Results (Provisional)
- #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: 1m24.345s
- #2 Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport: +0.320s
- #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.409s
- #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.439s
- #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.499s
- #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.564s
- #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: +0.643s
- #21 Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing: +0.646s
- #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +0.752s
- #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.754s
- #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.837s
- #22 Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing: +0.881s
- #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +0.994s
- #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +1.064s
- #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +1.084s
- #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +1.172s
- #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +1.632s
- #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.921s
- #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +6.588s





