Dries Van Langendonck set the fastest time of the two-day 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship post-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard, leading Wednesday morning for MP Motorsport with a 1:58.213.
Oleksandr Bondarev finished second overall for R-ace GP after topping Tuesday afternoon with a 1:58.296, while teammate Kenzo Craigie ended the test just 0.100s away from Van Langendonck. Alp Aksoy led Tuesday morning for PREMA Racing before CL Motorsport’s Reno Francot completed the four sessions at the top on Wednesday afternoon.
Paul Ricard hosted the second of three two-day post-season tests as teams continued preparations for 2027 and the FIA Formula Regional World Cup in Macau. The French running followed the opening Hockenheim post-season test, where Yuki Sano had set the overall benchmark and Van Langendonck topped both afternoon sessions.
Several drivers continued with the teams they had joined at Hockenheim, while the Paul Ricard field also included changes. Fionn McLaughlin joined RPM, Edu Robinson tested for PREMA Racing and Alexandre Munoz returned to ART Grand Prix on Tuesday. MP Motorsport fielded only Van Langendonck because Rocco Coronel and Kasper Schormans had clashing Formula 4 commitments.
Aksoy leads close Tuesday morning session
Aksoy opened the Paul Ricard test at the top for PREMA Racing, setting a 1:58.454 during the closing stages of Tuesday morning. Van Langendonck had briefly led with a 1:58.834 before Francot moved ahead, but Aksoy returned to the circuit late and produced the quickest time of the session.
CL Motorsport placed two cars immediately behind him. Miguel Costa finished second with a 1:58.502, only 0.048s away from Aksoy, while Francot followed another 0.043s behind. Scott Lindblom continued the strong form he had shown at Hockenheim by taking fourth for Van Amersfoort Racing, with Craigie completing the top five for R-ace GP.
Van Langendonck ultimately finished sixth, 0.237s off the benchmark, while Munoz returned to ART Grand Prix with seventh. Bondarev began his second post-season test with R-ace GP in eighth, followed by Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic and VAR’s Pedro Lima.
The leading group remained tightly packed throughout the session, with the top eight separated by less than three tenths and 10 drivers finishing within 0.522s of Aksoy.
2026 FREC Paul Ricard post-season test — Tuesday morning results
- Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — 1:58.454
- Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.048
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.091
- Scott Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.145
- Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.183
- Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — +0.237
- Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +0.263
- Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.296
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.444
- Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.522
- Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.641
- Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +0.698
- Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.739
- Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +0.753
- Edu Robinson — PREMA Racing — +0.792
- Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.799
- Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +0.922
- Fionn McLaughlin — RPM — +0.988
- Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.006
- Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +1.022
- Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +1.102
- Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +1.111
- Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.146
- Bernardo Bernoldi — Rodin Motorsport — +1.276
- Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.403
- Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.691
- Zijun Zhao — G4 Racing — +2.249
- Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +2.840
Bondarev moves to the front on Tuesday afternoon
Bondarev took control when testing resumed and produced the fastest lap of the opening day. The Williams junior set a 1:58.296 for R-ace GP, improving considerably on his morning effort and finishing 0.058s ahead of Van Langendonck.
Van Langendonck showed particularly strong pace through the middle and final sectors but lost more than two tenths to Bondarev in the first sector. Craigie ensured two R-ace GP cars occupied the top three by finishing another 0.078s behind the Belgian.
Costa continued CL Motorsport’s strong day in fourth, while Munoz finished fifth for ART Grand Prix. Francot took sixth ahead of Lima, with Bernardo Bernoldi improving considerably from the morning to place eighth for Rodin Motorsport.
Sano, who had set the fastest overall time during the previous Hockenheim test, improved to ninth during the afternoon but remained 0.499s behind his new R-ace GP teammate. Lindblom completed the top 10.
The afternoon produced faster times throughout the leading group, with Bondarev’s 1:58.296 replacing Aksoy’s morning benchmark as the fastest lap of the test at the end of the opening day.
2026 FREC Paul Ricard post-season test — Tuesday afternoon results
- Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — 1:58.296
- Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — +0.058
- Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.136
- Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.225
- Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +0.338
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.402
- Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.405
- Bernardo Bernoldi — Rodin Motorsport — +0.465
- Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.499
- Scott Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.555
- Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +0.577
- Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.724
- Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +0.793
- Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +0.830
- Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.855
- Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.857
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.899
- Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +0.905
- Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.037
- Fionn McLaughlin — RPM — +1.067
- Edu Robinson — PREMA Racing — +1.078
- Zijun Zhao — G4 Racing — +1.092
- Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.145
- Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +1.253
- Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.302
- Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +1.487
- Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +2.047
- Emily Cotty — RPM — +2.224
Van Langendonck sets the overall benchmark on Wednesday morning
Van Langendonck moved to the top of the entire test when running resumed on Wednesday. The McLaren junior produced a 1:58.213 only around 40 minutes into the three-hour morning session, beating Bondarev’s Tuesday benchmark by 0.083s.
Craigie emerged as his closest challenger. The R-ace GP driver set a 1:58.313 during the final 40 minutes and finished exactly one tenth behind Van Langendonck, moving ahead of Bondarev in the overall two-day classification.
Aksoy continued his strong Paul Ricard showing in third with a 1:58.486, only 0.273s from first. Evan Giltaire returned to Formula Regional machinery with ART Grand Prix and immediately joined the leading group. The Japanese Super Formula Lights champion briefly occupied first place early in the session before finishing fourth, just 0.008s behind Aksoy.
Bondarev finished fifth with a 1:58.504, while Ninovic took sixth for Rodin Motorsport. Only 0.310s covered the first six positions. Bansal followed in seventh for Trident Motorsport, just 0.002s ahead of Francot.
Lindblom and Lima placed ninth and 10th respectively for VAR. Sano finished 13th, while Palmowski occupied 20th for Rodin Motorsport.
Van Langendonck’s lap ultimately remained unbeaten for the remainder of Wednesday and became the quickest time across all four Paul Ricard sessions.
2026 FREC Paul Ricard post-season test — Wednesday morning results
- Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — 1:58.213
- Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.100
- Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +0.273
- Evan Giltaire — ART Grand Prix — +0.281
- Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.291
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.310
- Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.396
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.398
- Scott Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.539
- Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.609
- Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +0.619
- Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +0.668
- Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +0.670
- Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.678
- Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.709
- Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +0.839
- Zijun Zhao — G4 Racing — +0.939
- Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +0.998
- Fionn McLaughlin — RPM — +1.004
- Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +1.037
- Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +1.044
- Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +1.072
- Bernardo Bernoldi — Rodin Motorsport — +1.087
- Edu Robinson — PREMA Racing — +1.139
- Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.412
- Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.607
- Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +1.839
- Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +2.599
Francot leads CL Motorsport one-two in final session
The fourth and final session produced slightly slower lap times and several Red Flag interruptions, allowing Van Langendonck’s morning benchmark to remain comfortably out of reach.
Francot moved to the front early with a 1:58.549 and retained first place through to the chequered flag. His CL Motorsport teammate Costa completed a one-two for the team with a 1:58.680, making the pair the only drivers inside the afternoon top 15 to improve on their respective Wednesday morning times.
Giltaire continued his impressive return in third, finishing 0.166s behind Francot, while Aksoy took fourth after setting his representative time on only his fourth lap. Ninovic followed in fifth for Rodin Motorsport.
Lindblom placed sixth ahead of Repetto, while Palmowski produced a late improvement to climb to eighth. Savinkov took ninth for PREMA Racing, with Bansal completing the top 10.
A late Red Flag caused by Lima gave the field one final opportunity to improve. Fewer than half of the drivers returned for a push lap, but Ninovic used the restart to climb to fifth and Palmowski improved to eighth.
Van Langendonck finished at the bottom of the afternoon classification after completing his representative work earlier in the day. His morning time nevertheless ensured he finished the Paul Ricard test fastest overall.
2026 FREC Paul Ricard post-season test — Wednesday afternoon results
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — 1:58.549
- Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.131
- Evan Giltaire — ART Grand Prix — +0.166
- Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +0.294
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.325
- Scott Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.393
- Oscar Repetto — G4 Racing — +0.422
- Alisha Palmowski — Rodin Motorsport — +0.459
- Oleksandr Savinkov — PREMA Racing — +0.586
- Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.596
- Pedro Lima — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.622
- Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.631
- Fionn McLaughlin — RPM — +0.661
- Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.689
- Bernardo Bernoldi — Rodin Motorsport — +0.713
- Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +0.756
- Alexander Chartier — CL Motorsport — +0.810
- Dominik Simek — Trident Motorsport — +0.840
- Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +1.055
- Edu Robinson — PREMA Racing — +1.072
- Zijun Zhao — G4 Racing — +1.118
- Andre Rodriguez — RPM — +1.149
- Ludovico Busso — Trident Motorsport — +1.158
- Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +1.159
- Thibaut Ramaekers — ART Grand Prix — +1.243
- Emily Cotty — RPM — +1.281
- Fernando Rivera — Van Amersfoort Racing — +2.155
- Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — +2.245
Van Langendonck leaves Paul Ricard fastest overall
Van Langendonck leaves the second post-season test with the fastest outright time after once again establishing himself among the leading drivers. He had already topped both afternoon sessions at Hockenheim before setting a 1:58.213 on Wednesday morning at Paul Ricard. His benchmark put him 0.083s ahead of Bondarev’s Tuesday afternoon time and exactly one tenth ahead of Craigie.
R-ace GP therefore placed two drivers inside the overall top three. Bondarev led Tuesday afternoon and finished second overall on 1:58.296, while Craigie continued the strong pace he had displayed at Hockenheim and ended the two days third with a 1:58.313.
Aksoy finished fourth overall after leading the opening session. His 1:58.454 left him 0.241s behind Van Langendonck, while Giltaire immediately placed fifth on his return to Formula Regional machinery despite only participating on Wednesday.
Costa took sixth overall for CL Motorsport ahead of Ninovic and Francot. Francot’s Wednesday afternoon benchmark did not improve on his 1:58.545 from Tuesday morning, which left him eighth overall despite topping the final session.
Lindblom and Bansal completed an overall top 10 separated by only 0.396s. The margins remained tight further down the field, with 17 drivers recording a best lap within seven tenths of Van Langendonck across the two days.
2026 FREC Paul Ricard post-season test — overall top 10
- Dries Van Langendonck — MP Motorsport — 1:58.213
- Oleksandr Bondarev — R-ace GP — +0.083
- Kenzo Craigie — R-ace GP — +0.100
- Alp Aksoy — PREMA Racing — +0.241
- Evan Giltaire — ART Grand Prix — +0.281
- Miguel Costa — CL Motorsport — +0.289
- Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.310
- Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.332
- Scott Lindblom — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.386
- Ary Bansal — Trident Motorsport — +0.396
Van Langendonck, Bondarev, Craigie and Aksoy have now emerged consistently near the front across the first four days of post-season running. Van Langendonck topped three of the eight sessions held across Hockenheim and Paul Ricard, while Craigie and Bondarev regularly featured among the leading R-ace GP runners. Aksoy also immediately established himself near the front after joining PREMA Racing during the post-season programme.
The Paul Ricard test also provided further running for several potential 2027 drivers. McLaughlin completed 149 laps across the two days for RPM, Robinson accumulated 125 for PREMA Racing and Palmowski continued with Rodin Motorsport. Rivera completed the most mileage among drivers who participated on both days, recording 170 laps for VAR.
The championship’s post-season programme now moves to the Red Bull Ring for its final two days of testing on 29–30 September. The Austrian running completes the six-day programme that began at Hockenheim and continued at Paul Ricard, giving teams one final opportunity to evaluate drivers and prepare before the Formula Regional World Cup in Macau.
