Hitech’s Deagen Fairclough completed a perfect sweep of 2026 GB3 pre-event test events at Donington Park on Friday, topping all three sessions for the second consecutive day ahead of Qualifying.
Having led each of Thursday’s three tests, Fairclough repeated the feat on Friday before producing the quickest lap of the entire two-day programme in the final session. His 1m20.541s put him 0.424s clear of Rodin Motorsport’s Maxim Rehm, while VRD Racing’s Patricio Gonzalez completed the top three.
Fairclough remains unbeaten throughout Donington testing
Fairclough began Friday with a 1m21.750s in the opening session, edging Hillspeed’s Peter Bouzinelos by just 0.011s as the circuit continued to dry. Championship leader Nikita Bedrin followed only 0.036s from the benchmark, with Abbi Pulling and Flynn Jackes completing the top five.
The Hitech driver then extended his advantage during the afternoon, becoming the only competitor below the 1m21s barrier in Session 2. His 1m20.992s put him 0.476s clear of Bedrin, while Jackes and Elite Motorsport teammate Kyuho Lee followed closely behind.
That lap already threatened Fairclough’s Thursday benchmark of 1m20.966s, but he found significantly more time during the final half-hour session. Every driver recorded their best Friday lap in Session 3, allowing the combined classification to change considerably before the chequered flag.
Fairclough lowers benchmark before sitting out final minutes
Fairclough ultimately lowered the weekend benchmark to 1m20.541s during the final session, improving by 0.425s over his fastest Thursday effort.
The Hitech driver completed 15 laps in Session 3 but sat out the final five minutes, giving the chasing pack an opportunity to respond. None could get particularly close, with Fairclough retaining a substantial 0.424s advantage despite remaining in the pits during the closing stages.
Rehm emerged as his closest challenger with a 1m20.965s, while the order immediately behind the German proved considerably tighter. Gonzalez finished only 0.015s further back in third, with Lee another 0.012s behind in fourth.
Martin Molnar put the second Rodin Motorsport car fifth, 0.031s away from Lee, while Hitech’s Jacob Micallef followed another 0.040s behind in sixth after producing a major improvement in the final session.
Bedrin and Jackes closely matched before Qualifying
Bedrin finished Friday seventh overall with a 1m21.076s, leaving the championship leader 0.535s away from Fairclough but firmly among the tightly packed group behind the Hitech driver.
Jackes followed just 0.003s behind in eighth, while Hillspeed’s Dante Vinci took ninth with a 1m21.134s. VRD tester Ryan Giannetta completed the top 10 on a 1m21.210s, leaving the leading 10 covered by 0.669s.
Lucas Fluxa narrowly missed the top 10 for Xcel Motorsport, finishing 11th and only 0.023s behind Giannetta. Bouzinelos took 12th ahead of Fortec Motorsports’ Jack Taylor, while Aurelia Nobels climbed to 14th after setting a 1m21.331s in the final session.
Leon Wilson, Yuhao Fu and home driver Rowan Campbell-Pilling completed the group within one second of Fairclough, meaning the leading 17 drivers were separated by only 0.914s heading into Saturday.
Final session reshuffles entire combined order
Friday’s final test proved decisive for the combined classification, with every competitor recording their quickest lap of the day during the session.
Pulling finished 18th for Rodin Motorsport, 1.016s away from Fairclough, while VRD’s Rodrigo Gonzalez took 19th. Ricardo Baptista placed 20th for Xcel Motorsport, with testing-only runner Nadeem Rustombi completing the 21-car order.
The result leaves Fairclough as the clear testing benchmark after topping all six sessions across Thursday and Friday. His margin in the final test was also considerably larger than on Thursday, when Jackes had finished only 0.118s behind him in the combined classification.
With testing now complete, attention turns to Saturday’s Qualifying session and the opening race of the Donington Park weekend.
2026 GB3 Donington Park Friday combined test results
- Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — 1m20.541s
- Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — +0.424s
- Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +0.439s
- Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +0.451s
- Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +0.482s
- Jacob Micallef — Hitech — +0.522s
- Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +0.535s
- Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +0.538s
- Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +0.593s
- Ryan Giannetta — VRD Racing — +0.669s*
- Lucas Fluxa — Xcel Motorsport — +0.692s
- Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +0.740s
- Jack Taylor — Fortec Motorsports — +0.747s
- Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — +0.790s
- Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — +0.903s
- Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +0.904s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — +0.914s
- Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +1.016s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +1.051s
- Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +1.285s
- Nadeem Rustombi — VRD Racing — +3.721s*
*Testing only, not racing this weekend.
Friday results: Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Combined classification
