2026 | FREC | Hockenheim | Post-Season Test | Sano fastest overall as Van Langendonck tops both afternoon sessions

Yuki Sano set the fastest time of the two-day 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FERC) post-season test at Hockenheim, leading Tuesday morning before Dries Van Langendonck topped both afternoon sessions for MP Motorsport.

Sano opened the test with a 1:35.025 for R-ace GP, finishing 0.209s ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Scott Kin Lindblom and 0.223s clear of Trident Motorsport’s Ary Bansal. The Japanese driver returned to the top on Wednesday morning, although his 1:35.911 remained well short of his opening benchmark.

Van Langendonck emerged as Sano’s closest challenger across the two days. The MP Motorsport driver led Tuesday afternoon with a 1:35.301 before improving to a 1:35.215 on Wednesday afternoon, when just 0.001s separated him from Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic and only 0.006s covered the leading three.

The post-season running followed immediately after the Hockenheim finale and featured several drivers testing with different teams and a number of newcomers gaining mileage in the Tatuus T-326.

Sano sets the benchmark on Tuesday morning

Sano started the post-season test at the top of the timesheets for R-ace GP. His best lap of 1:35.025 came on his 41st lap and remained the quickest time anyone produced across the four sessions.

Lindblom placed second for Van Amersfoort Racing with a 1:35.234, while Bansal began his Trident Motorsport test strongly in third. Kenzo Craigie gave R-ace GP another car inside the top four, with Oleksandr Bondarev fifth as he began his running with the team following his two-round 2026 programme with Van Amersfoort Racing.

Reno Francot placed sixth for CL Motorsport ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Alexandre Munoz and Rodin Motorsport’s Ninovic. Miguel Costa took ninth for CL Motorsport, while Mattéo Giaccardi completed the top 10 for ART Grand Prix.

Several other drivers also appeared in new surroundings. Alisha Palmowski ran for Rodin Motorsport and finished 12th, while Saqer Almaosherji drove for PREMA Racing in 13th. Van Langendonck and Rocco Coronel occupied 14th and 15th for MP Motorsport respectively.

2026 FREC Hockenheim post-season test — Tuesday morning results

1. #12 Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — 1:35.025
2. #11 Scott Kin Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.209
3. #47 Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.223
4. #71 Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.291
5. #73 Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.297
6. #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.496
7. #27 Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +0.580
8. #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.624
9. #24 Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.634
10. #95 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.685
11. #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +0.714
12. #4 Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.739
13. #88 Saqer Almaosherji — PREMA Racing — +0.798
14. #98 Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — +0.805
15. #15 Rocco Coronel — MP Motorsport — +0.980
16. #19 Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.050
17. #28 Kasper Schormans — MP Motorsport — +1.127
18. #67 Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +1.324
19. #5 Bernardo Bernoldi — RPM — +1.347
20. #33 Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +1.350
21. #78 David Cosma Cristofor — Rodin Motorsport — +1.466
22. #46 Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.473
23. #60 Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +1.499
24. #7 Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.547
25. #8 Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.585
26. #99 Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.946
27. #55 Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +2.084
28. #3 Zhao Zijun — G4 Racing — +2.351

Van Langendonck moves to the front on Tuesday afternoon

Van Langendonck responded in the second session and placed MP Motorsport at the top with a 1:35.301. Although that lap did not threaten Sano’s morning benchmark, it put the Belgian 0.045s ahead of Bondarev, who continued his strong opening day with second for R-ace GP.

Sano remained among the leaders in third, 0.144s away from Van Langendonck, while Bansal followed in fourth for Trident Motorsport. Craigie completed the top five and ensured all three R-ace GP cars finished inside the leading group.

Coronel improved to sixth for MP Motorsport, ahead of teammate Schormans. Francot finished eighth, while Almaosherji and Costa rounded out the top 10.

Palmowski followed in 11th, with Ninovic 12th. Lindblom dropped from second in the morning to 13th during the afternoon, while Giaccardi and Alibhai completed the top 15.

2026 FREC Hockenheim post-season test — Tuesday afternoon results

1. #98 Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — 1:35.301
2. #73 Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.045
3. #12 Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.144
4. #47 Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.189
5. #71 Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.235
6. #15 Rocco Coronel — MP Motorsport — +0.309
7. #28 Kasper Schormans — MP Motorsport — +0.317
8. #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.484
9. #88 Saqer Almaosherji — PREMA Racing — +0.580
10. #24 Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.589
11. #4 Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.647
12. #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.743
13. #11 Scott Kin Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.770
14. #95 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.812
15. #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +0.839
16. #67 Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +1.043
17. #8 Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.086
18. #27 Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +1.107
19. #5 Bernardo Bernoldi — RPM — +1.170
20. #46 Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.201
21. #33 Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +1.262
22. #7 Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.277
23. #78 David Cosma Cristofor — Rodin Motorsport — +1.315
24. #3 Zhao Zijun — G4 Racing — +1.359
25. #60 Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +1.388
26. #19 Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.445
27. #99 Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.821
28. #55 Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.874
29. #87 Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +2.317

Sano returns to the top on Wednesday morning

Sano reclaimed first place when testing resumed on Wednesday, although the session produced slower lap times than Tuesday. The R-ace GP driver recorded a 1:35.911 on his 44th lap to finish 0.252s clear of Coronel.

Van Langendonck remained near the front in third with a 1:36.187, while Bondarev took fourth and Craigie fifth. That gave R-ace GP three cars inside the top five for the second consecutive morning session.

Ninovic finished sixth ahead of Palmowski, while the Wednesday morning entry list also featured a change at PREMA Racing as Tomass Stolcermanis took over the #88 and finished eighth.

Cristofor placed ninth for Rodin Motorsport, with Giaccardi again completing the top 10 for ART Grand Prix. Taito Kato also joined ART Grand Prix’s test programme and finished 17th, while Alp Aksoy appeared for PREMA Racing.

2026 FREC Hockenheim post-season test — Wednesday morning results

1. #12 Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — 1:35.911
2. #15 Rocco Coronel — MP Motorsport — +0.252
3. #98 Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — +0.276
4. #73 Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.314
5. #71 Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.540
6. #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.740
7. #4 Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.836
8. #88 Tomass Stolcermanis — PREMA Racing — +0.950
9. #78 David Cosma Cristofor — Rodin Motorsport — +0.999
10. #95 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +1.026
11. #11 Scott Kin Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.045
12. #60 Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +1.069
13. #5 Bernardo Bernoldi — RPM — +1.171
14. #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +1.245
15. #19 Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.267
16. #33 Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +1.269
17. #27 Taito Kato — ART Grand Prix — +1.366
18. #8 Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.743
19. #87 Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +1.885
20. #28 Kasper Schormans — MP Motorsport — +2.154
21. #24 Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +2.165
22. #46 Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +2.256
23. #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +2.941
24. #99 Emily Cotty — RPM — +2.992
25. #7 Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +4.873
26. #67 Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +9.180
27. #3 Zhao Zijun — G4 Racing — +10.356
28. #51 Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +11.452
29. #55 Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +13.416
30. #47 Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +23.178

Van Langendonck edges Ninovic by 0.001s in final session

The final afternoon produced the closest battle of the two-day test. Van Langendonck returned to the top for MP Motorsport with a 1:35.215, but Ninovic missed out by only 0.001s for Rodin Motorsport.

Coronel completed a tightly packed top three, finishing just 0.006s away from his MP Motorsport teammate. Bansal rebounded from limited Wednesday morning running to take fourth with a 1:35.313, while Bondarev completed the top five only 0.104s behind the session leader.

Sano finished sixth after topping both morning sessions. Repetto produced his strongest classification of the test in seventh for G4 Racing, ahead of Craigie. Kato moved into the top 10 in ninth for ART Grand Prix, while teammate Giaccardi completed 55 laps and finished 10th.

Stolcermanis took 11th for PREMA Racing, with Lindblom 12th and Costa 13th. Palmowski finished 14th as her Rodin Motorsport test concluded, while Ramaekers rounded out the top 15.

2026 FREC Hockenheim post-season test — Wednesday afternoon results

1. #98 Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — 1:35.215
2. #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.001
3. #15 Rocco Coronel — MP Motorsport — +0.006
4. #47 Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.098
5. #73 Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.104
6. #12 Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.235
7. #67 Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +0.244
8. #71 Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.258
9. #27 Taito Kato — ART Grand Prix — +0.291
10. #95 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.359
11. #88 Tomass Stolcermanis — PREMA Racing — +0.418
12. #11 Scott Kin Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.485
13. #24 Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.519
14. #4 Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.624
15. #19 Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +0.656
16. #33 Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +0.663
17. #7 Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.727
18. #28 Kasper Schormans — MP Motorsport — +0.733
19. #23 Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +0.770
20. #8 Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +0.811
21. #3 Zhao Zijun — G4 Racing — +0.834
22. #87 Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +0.834
23. #78 David Cosma Cristofor — Rodin Motorsport — +0.842
24. #60 Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +0.854
25. #5 Bernardo Bernoldi — RPM — +0.891
26. #46 Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.147
27. #51 Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +1.264
28. #99 Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.419
29. #55 Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.466
30. #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +1.703

Sano leaves Hockenheim with fastest time of post-season test

Although Van Langendonck topped two of the four sessions and ended the test with the quickest Wednesday afternoon lap, Sano’s 1:35.025 from Tuesday morning remained unbeaten across the two days. The R-ace GP driver also topped Wednesday morning, making Sano and Van Langendonck the only two drivers to lead a session during the post-season running.

Bondarev also featured consistently near the front on his first test with R-ace GP, finishing fifth, second, fourth and fifth across the four sessions. Craigie regularly placed alongside him and Sano, while Coronel moved closer to the front as the test progressed and ended Wednesday afternoon only six thousandths away from Van Langendonck.

The final session also underlined how close the leading group had become, with the top five covered by just 0.104s and the top eight separated by 0.258s. Ninovic came within one thousandth of topping the session, while Bansal returned to fourth after completing only three laps during Wednesday morning.

The two-day test therefore ended with R-ace GP holding the outright benchmark through Sano, while MP Motorsport topped both afternoon sessions through Van Langendonck as teams and drivers concluded their first post-season running at Hockenheim.

Results: Tuesday morning classification · Tuesday afternoon classification · Wednesday morning classification · Wednesday afternoon classification