2026 | FREC | Imola | Qualifying 2 | Bondarev snatches Race 3 pole on debut weekend

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Oleksandr Bondarev claimed pole position for the final race of the 2026 FREC Imola weekend after producing the fastest time across Sunday morning’s two Qualifying groups.

The Van Amersfoort Racing debutant followed his second-place finish in Race 2 with a 1:38.728 in Group A. Championship leader Emanuele Olivieri topped Group B with a 1:38.827 and will line up alongside Bondarev on the front row for Race 3. Bondarev beat Reno Francot by only 0.009s within his group, while Olivieri finished 0.248s clear of Jules Roussel.

Olivieri entered Qualifying only two points ahead of Sebastian Wheldon following his victory in Race 1. However, the R-ace GP rookie secured another advantageous starting position while Wheldon finished seventh in Group B. Kean Nakamura-Berta and Rashid Al Dhaheri also qualified behind Olivieri, giving the Italian an opportunity to strengthen his championship lead in the final race at Imola.

Wheldon leads before Red Flag interrupts Group B

Group B opened Sunday’s Qualifying 2 session, with Wheldon establishing himself at the front as the field began producing representative lap times. With exactly five minutes remaining, the MP Motorsport driver led on a 1:39.641, while Marcus Sæter sat only 0.046s behind.

However, the session changed when Andrija Kostić went off at Tamburello and became stranded in the gravel. Race Control showed the Red Flag, temporarily freezing the order and leaving the drivers with limited time to improve once the session resumed.

Roussel immediately capitalised after the restart and moved ahead with a 1:39.632. Wheldon responded with a 1:39.367, while Dion Gowda climbed to second, only 0.088s behind. Zhenrui Chi also moved into contention as the times continued to fall.

Olivieri initially sat only fourth on a 1:39.500, but the championship leader still had one major improvement available.

Group B results

Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP — 1:38.827
Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport — +0.248s
Maksimilian Popov — Trident Motorsport — +0.368s
Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.375s
Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — +0.391s
Marcus Sæter — G4 Racing — +0.455s
Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport — +0.540s
Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — +0.548s
René Lammers — CL Motorsport — +0.692s
Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.714s
Jan Przyrowski — RPM — +0.875s
Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +1.013s
Alexander Abkhazava — MP Motorsport — +1.091s
Giovanni Maschio — RPM — +1.124s
Andrija Kostić — Trident Motorsport — +3.018s.

Olivieri produces decisive final improvement

Olivieri transformed the Group B classification with his final meaningful lap. After struggling earlier in the session, the Italian found more than six tenths to record a 1:38.827 and move comfortably clear at the top.

Roussel improved to a 1:39.075 but remained 0.248s behind, while Popov took third with a 1:39.195. Gowda followed only 0.007s behind the Trident driver, with Chi another 0.016s further back in fifth.

Wheldon, who had led before the Red Flag, ultimately dropped to seventh on a 1:39.367. The result meant Olivieri had already placed himself significantly ahead of his closest championship rival before Group A even took to the circuit.

However, the Italian still needed to wait to discover whether his 1:38.827 would prove quick enough for overall pole.

Francot takes provisional Group A benchmark

Francot quickly emerged as one of the fastest drivers when Group A began. The CL Motorsport driver became one of the first to break the 1:39 barrier with a 1:38.937 before improving further to a 1:38.737.

That second effort placed Francot on provisional overall pole, 0.090s faster than Olivieri’s Group B benchmark. Alexandre Munoz moved into second in the group, 0.124s behind Francot, while Al Dhaheri also remained near the front.

As the chequered flag appeared, Francot looked increasingly likely to secure his first pole of the weekend. However, Bondarev remained on a final flying lap.

The Ukrainian had already impressed throughout his first FREC weekend after finishing second behind Salim Hanna in Race 2, and his final Qualifying effort produced another breakthrough.

Group A results

Oleksandr Bondarev — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:38.728
Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.009s
Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing — +0.118s
Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +0.133s
Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing — +0.155s
Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP — +0.200s
Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.376s
Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — +0.425s
Salim Hanna — PREMA Racing — +0.505s
Gabriel Gomez — Rodin Motorsport — +0.639s
Miguel Costa — RPM — +0.659s
Saqer Almaosherji — G4 Racing — +0.670s
Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport — +0.759s
Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +1.052s
Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.126s.

Bondarev snatches debut 2026 FREC pole on final lap at Imola

Bondarev produced the decisive lap after the chequered flag, crossing the line in 1:38.728 to beat Francot by just nine thousandths of a second.

The result secured the Van Amersfoort Racing driver overall pole on his first FREC weekend and continued an exceptional introduction to the championship. Bondarev had already finished second in Saturday’s reverse-grid Race 2 and will now lead the field away for Sunday afternoon’s finale.

Štolcermanis finished third in Group A with a 1:38.846, only 0.118s behind Bondarev, while Munoz took fourth. Nakamura-Berta followed in fifth on a 1:38.883, with Al Dhaheri completing the top six.

Therefore, several of Olivieri’s championship rivals will start behind him. Nakamura-Berta lines up ninth, Al Dhaheri 10th and Wheldon 13th after the final grid adjustments.

Chi penalty reshapes middle of Race 3 grid

The alternating group format initially placed Chi 10th after he finished fifth in Group B. However, the MP Motorsport driver received a five-place grid drop under Stewards’ Decision No. 25.

That penalty promotes Al Dhaheri to 10th, Sæter to 11th, Ninovic to 12th, Wheldon to 13th and Seewooruthun to 14th. Chi consequently drops to 15th, alongside Anurag on the eighth row.

The change further improves Olivieri’s championship position before the race. His closest rival, Wheldon, will start 11 places behind him, while Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri occupy Rows 5 and 5 respectively.

Olivieri gains strategic advantage in 2026 FREC title fight with Imola success

The combined format places Bondarev and Olivieri together on the front row, with Francot and Roussel occupying Row 2. Štolcermanis and Popov form the third row, while Munoz and Gowda start seventh and eighth.

For Olivieri, the result creates another important opportunity in an increasingly close championship fight. He entered the session only two points ahead of Wheldon after his Race 1 victory moved him to the top of the standings.

Nakamura-Berta starts ninth and Al Dhaheri 10th, while Wheldon’s 13th-place grid slot leaves the MP Motorsport driver with considerably more work to do. Bondarev, meanwhile, enters Race 3 without the same championship considerations and with an opportunity to turn his remarkable debut weekend into a maiden victory.

Race 3 will therefore combine a new contender at the front with a potentially decisive chapter in the 2026 title fight.