Deagen Fairclough extended his strong run of 2026 GB3 form with victory in Race 1 at Donington Park after prevailing in a superb battle with championship leader Nikita Bedrin.
The Hitech driver passed polesitter Bedrin around the outside of Redgate on the opening lap before spending much of the second half of the 25-minute contest defending from the VRD Racing driver. Bedrin launched several attacks but could not find a way through, allowing Fairclough to claim his fourth victory of 2026 and third win from the past four races by just 0.317s.
Abbi Pulling completed the podium for Rodin Motorsport after an eventful opening lap, while teammate Martin Molnar took fourth. Lucas Fluxa climbed from eighth to fifth for Xcel Motorsport after Maxim Rehm dropped out of contention following a spin at the Melbourne Hairpin.
Fairclough sweeps around Bedrin at Redgate
Bedrin started from pole after beating Fairclough by 0.056s in Saturday morning’s opening Qualifying session, but the Hitech driver immediately attacked when racing began.
Fairclough drew alongside the championship leader and committed to the outside line at Redgate, completing the move around Turn 1 to take the lead. Bedrin remained close rather than allowing his title rival to escape, however, setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 5 with a 1m20.829s.
Pulling also enjoyed a strong opening lap from fourth on the grid and established herself in the podium fight. Molnar remained close behind his Rodin teammate, while Rehm ensured all three of the team’s cars featured prominently during the early stages.
Rehm spins while battling Pulling
The Rodin drivers became embroiled in their own fight as Pulling attempted to protect third from Rehm. Their battle came to a head on Lap 7 when Rehm spun at the Melbourne Hairpin while challenging his teammate.
The German returned to the pits for repairs but could not recover, eventually retiring after completing eight laps. His exit promoted Molnar to fourth and opened the door for several drivers behind to make significant gains.
Fluxa benefited most, climbing from eighth on the grid into fifth. His Xcel Motorsport teammate Rowan Campbell-Pilling maintained sixth, leaving the pair running together ahead of Elite Motorsport’s Flynn Jackes and Kyuho Lee.
Bedrin turns up pressure on Fairclough
The battle for victory intensified significantly during the second half of the race as Bedrin closed back onto Fairclough.
With 10 minutes remaining on Lap 11, the leading pair ran wheel to wheel through the final corners as Bedrin searched for an opening. The championship leader then used DRS on Lap 12 and attempted to sweep around the outside of Fairclough at Redgate, but the Hitech driver positioned his car well enough to retain first.
Neither driver backed away as the contest continued. Bedrin remained firmly within striking distance while Fairclough defended without being able to establish the comfortable advantage his testing pace had suggested might be possible.
Fairclough survives another Redgate attack
Bedrin tried an almost identical move on Lap 16, once again using the outside line at Redgate to challenge for the lead. This time he locked a tyre during the attempt, allowing Fairclough to maintain the position and narrowly escape another attack.
Both drivers were operating close to the limit as their fight continued. Bedrin caught a significant slide at Coppice while pursuing the Hitech car, while Fairclough produced visible brake smoke under braking for the Melbourne Hairpin as he tried to keep his rival behind.
Bedrin made one final serious attempt on Lap 18, again attacking around the outside at Redgate. However, Fairclough resisted for a third time and finally gained enough breathing room to prevent another move before the chequered flag.
Fairclough takes fourth victory of 2026
Fairclough completed the 19-lap race in 25m47.157s and crossed the line only 0.317s ahead of Bedrin. His fourth victory of the season continued an impressive recent run that now includes three wins from the past four GB3 races.
Bedrin nevertheless limited the damage by finishing second and recording the fastest lap. The championship leader entered Donington with a substantial advantage and added another strong haul despite losing the lead on the opening lap.
Pulling finished 6.258s behind the winner to secure third and her second podium of the season. Molnar followed less than a second behind in fourth, ensuring Rodin still placed two cars inside the top four despite Rehm’s retirement.
Fluxa charges from eighth to fifth
Fluxa completed a strong recovery from eighth on the grid to finish fifth, gaining three positions as the race developed. The Spaniard crossed the line 11.046s behind Fairclough and almost three seconds clear of teammate Campbell-Pilling.
Jackes finished another half-second behind Campbell-Pilling in seventh, while Lee completed an Elite Motorsport 7-8. Peter Bouzinelos climbed three places from 12th to ninth for Hillspeed, with VRD Racing’s Patricio Gonzalez making even greater progress from 15th to complete the top 10.
Jacob Micallef crossed the line 11th but received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. Leon Wilson received the same sanction, dropping the Arden Motorsport driver to 18th in the provisional classification after originally starting ninth.
Jack Taylor finished 12th ahead of Yuhao Fu, Aurelia Nobels and Dante Vinci. Rodrigo Gonzalez, Ricardo Baptista and Wilson completed the classified runners, with Rehm the race’s only retirement.
2026 GB3: Donington Park: Race 1: Provisional results
- #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — 19 laps
- #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +0.317s
- #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +6.258s
- #2 Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +7.235s
- #7 Lucas Fluxa — Xcel Motorsport — +11.046s
- #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — +13.908s
- #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +14.403s
- #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +17.079s
- #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +18.269s
- #21 Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +19.677s
- #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech — +20.433s*
- #24 Jack Taylor — Fortec Motorsports — +21.341s
- #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +27.462s
- #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — +28.083s
- #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +31.435s
- #22 Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +32.745s
- #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +39.303s
- #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — +44.723s*
DNF: #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — 8 laps
Penalties:
* #4 Jacob Micallef — five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
* #27 Leon Wilson — five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits.
Fairclough will have another opportunity to challenge Bedrin when he starts Race 2 from pole position on Sunday morning. The second race of the Donington weekend is scheduled to begin at 10:10, with Bedrin again alongside him on the front row.
