VRD Racing’s Nikita Bedrin and JHR Developments newcomer Lewis Wherrell secured pole positions during an exceptionally close qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of the 2026 GB3 Championship season finale.
Championship leader Bedrin claimed his seventh pole position of the season during Q1, recording a 1:33.389 to finish 0.071 seconds ahead of Wherrell. The result also secured the Italian the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup and its £2,000 prize, adding another achievement to his championship-leading campaign.
However, Wherrell responded during Q2, securing his maiden GB3 pole position with a 1:33.033. The British newcomer finished just 0.030 seconds ahead of fellow debutant Fred Green, while less than seven hundredths separated the leading five drivers.
The remarkably close session also produced contrasting results for the championship contenders. Bedrin will start Race 1 from pole, while nearest rival Deagen Fairclough qualified sixth before slipping to 17th in Q2.
With the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships still undecided, Saturday’s opening race could prove decisive in determining the outcome of the 2026 season.
Bedrin enters qualifying as the fastest driver of the Barcelona weekend
Bedrin approached Saturday’s qualifying sessions as the fastest driver across the preceding two days of testing and practice. The VRD Racing driver had established a 1:32.674 during Friday’s FP1, a benchmark that remained unbeaten throughout the weekend’s preparations.
However, his rivals had demonstrated competitive pace. Xcel Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling finished just 0.029 seconds behind Bedrin in FP1, while Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling subsequently topped both FP2 and FP3.
Pulling’s final practice performance was particularly encouraging, with the British driver finishing more than half a second ahead of the field. Nevertheless, the narrow margins throughout the chasing group suggested that qualifying would produce a significantly closer contest.
Several newcomers had also demonstrated impressive pace, including Ary Bansal, Thomas Ingram Hill, Kyuho Lee and Wherrell. Their performances introduced additional competition for the established championship contenders.
With Bedrin and Fairclough also competing for the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup, both qualifying sessions carried significance beyond determining the starting grids.
Q1: Bedrin claims seventh pole and Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup
Bedrin entered Q1 knowing that a single pole position would secure the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup, regardless of Fairclough’s performance in the second session. However, the championship leader faced a considerable challenge from Wherrell, who continued his impressive debut weekend.
The JHR Developments driver moved to the top of the classification during the closing minutes with a 1:33.460, placing himself in contention for an unexpected pole position.
Bedrin responded on his penultimate lap, improving to a 1:33.389 to secure pole by just 0.071 seconds. His seventh pole of the campaign confirmed his victory in the season-long competition and the accompanying £2,000 prize.
Wherrell nevertheless secured a front-row start for his first GB3 race, while Elite Motorsport’s Kyuho Lee produced his strongest qualifying performance of the season to claim third. The Korean finished 0.138 seconds behind Bedrin, narrowly ahead of another newcomer in Ingram Hill.
The GB4 graduate qualified fourth, completing an impressive opening session for JHR Developments as the returning team placed both drivers among the leading four.
Q1: Fairclough qualifies sixth as championship battle intensifies
Campbell-Pilling secured fifth for Xcel Motorsport, finishing 0.277 seconds behind Bedrin. Fairclough followed in sixth after improving during the closing stages, having spent much of the session further down the classification.
The Hitech driver finished 0.309 seconds away from pole, leaving him with considerable work ahead of the opening race. Bedrin enters Saturday with an 89-point championship advantage and can secure the title by finishing inside the top seven in Race 1.
Fellow championship contender Lucas Fluxá qualified seventh for Xcel Motorsport, just 0.002 seconds behind Fairclough. Elite Motorsport’s Flynn Jackes followed in eighth, with Pulling ninth after struggling to reproduce the pace she demonstrated during Friday’s final practice sessions.
Green completed the top ten in his first GB3 qualifying appearance, finishing 0.409 seconds behind Bedrin.
Further back, Rodin Motorsport’s Martin Molnar qualified 12th, complicating his already difficult championship prospects. Meanwhile, VRD Racing’s Patricio Gonzalez could only manage 20th, despite featuring among the leading drivers during Friday’s practice sessions.
The closely contested opening session therefore established an important advantage for Bedrin ahead of Race 1.
Q2: Wherrell claims maiden GB3 pole by 0.030 seconds
After narrowly missing out on pole position in Q1, Wherrell delivered another impressive performance during the second 15-minute session. The British driver established a 1:33.033 on his fourth lap, a time that remained unbeaten despite several rivals improving during the closing stages.
Green came closest to challenging the JHR Developments driver, recording a lap just 0.030 seconds slower to secure second place for Elite Motorsport.
The result created an all-debutant front row for Race 2, highlighting the remarkable competitiveness of the newcomers during their first GB3 qualifying appearances.
Behind the leading pair, Pulling recovered from ninth in Q1 to claim third, finishing only 0.045 seconds behind Wherrell. Rodin teammate Molnar also improved considerably, securing fourth after qualifying 12th during the opening session.
Just 0.003 seconds separated the two Rodin drivers, providing the team with an encouraging result as it attempts to defend its Teams’ Championship advantage.
Ingram Hill continued JHR Developments’ impressive return to GB3, securing fifth with a lap just 0.069 seconds away from his teammate’s pole time.
The leading five drivers were consequently separated by less than seven hundredths of a second, demonstrating the exceptionally narrow margins throughout Q2.
Q2: Bedrin takes sixth as Fairclough struggles to 17th
Bedrin completed the leading six in Q2, recording a lap 0.105 seconds slower than Wherrell. Although he could not repeat his Q1 pole position, the championship leader remained well placed ahead of the second race.
Fluxá followed in seventh for Xcel Motorsport, finishing just 0.017 seconds behind Bedrin. Hillspeed’s Peter Bouzinelos secured eighth, matching his strongest qualifying performance of the season.
Jackes and Aurelia Nobels completed the top ten, separated by just 0.002 seconds. The exceptionally close session left only 0.228 seconds between Wherrell on pole and Nobels in tenth, while the leading 21 drivers finished within one second of the fastest lap.
Campbell-Pilling could only manage 12th after qualifying fifth for Race 1, while Bansal improved from 21st in Q1 to 13th.
Fairclough endured a particularly difficult second session, qualifying 17th and finishing 0.631 seconds behind Wherrell. The result represents a significant setback for the British driver’s championship aspirations, especially with Bedrin starting both races considerably further forward.
Nevertheless, Fairclough will have an opportunity to recover positions when the weekend’s opening race begins on Saturday afternoon.
Championship implications ahead of Barcelona Race 1
Bedrin’s Q1 performance has strengthened his position ahead of the championship-deciding races. With an 89-point advantage over Fairclough, the Italian needs only 14 additional points to secure his maiden single-seater title.
His pole position provides an ideal opportunity to achieve that objective, with a top-seven finish in Race 1 sufficient to make him champion regardless of his rivals’ results.
Fairclough faces a significantly more difficult task from sixth, while Fluxá and Molnar also remain mathematically involved in the title fight but require substantial changes in the competitive order.
Meanwhile, the Teams’ Championship remains closely contested. Rodin Motorsport entered the Barcelona finale with 758 points, just 16 ahead of VRD Racing on 742.
Although Bedrin will start Race 1 from pole, Pulling and Molnar secured third and fourth respectively for Race 2, providing Rodin with an encouraging opportunity to strengthen its position.
With three races remaining, the championship battles will continue throughout the weekend. However, Saturday’s opening contest could already settle the Drivers’ Championship if Bedrin converts his pole position into a sufficiently strong result.
2026 GB3 Barcelona: Provisional Qualifying 1 classification
- Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing — 1:33.389
- Lewis Wherrell, JHR Developments — +0.071s
- Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport — +0.138s
- Thomas Ingram Hill, JHR Developments — +0.174s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport — +0.277s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech — +0.309s
- Lucas Fluxá, Xcel Motorsport — +0.311s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport — +0.332s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport — +0.334s
- Fred Green, Elite Motorsport — +0.409s
- Yuhao Fu, Hitech — +0.519s
- Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport — +0.550s
- Dante Vinci, Hillspeed — +0.586s
- Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed — +0.646s
- Theo Palmer, Hitech — +0.662s
- Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed — +0.703s
- Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport — +0.785s
- Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport — +0.896s
- Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport — +0.905s
- Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing — +1.026s
- Ary Bansal, TJ Speed Motorsports — +1.073s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing — +1.099s
- Matan Achituv, Arden Motorsport — +1.509s
- Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +1.961s
- Arjen Kräling, TJ Speed Motorsports — +6.707s
Pole position: Nikita Bedrin — 1:33.389
2026 GB3 Barcelona: Provisional Qualifying 2 classification
- Lewis Wherrell, JHR Developments — 1:33.033
- Fred Green, Elite Motorsport — +0.030s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport — +0.045s
- Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport — +0.048s
- Thomas Ingram Hill, JHR Developments — +0.069s
- Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing — +0.105s
- Lucas Fluxá, Xcel Motorsport — +0.122s
- Peter Bouzinelos, Hillspeed — +0.156s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport — +0.226s
- Aurelia Nobels, Hillspeed — +0.228s
- Dante Vinci, Hillspeed — +0.315s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport — +0.372s
- Ary Bansal, TJ Speed Motorsports — +0.504s
- Leon Wilson, Arden Motorsport — +0.584s
- Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing — +0.591s
- Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport — +0.598s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech — +0.631s
- Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport — +0.764s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing — +0.779s
- Ricardo Baptista, Xcel Motorsport — +0.822s
- Theo Palmer, Hitech — +0.825s
- Arjen Kräling, TJ Speed Motorsports — +1.117s
- Matan Achituv, Arden Motorsport — +1.207s
- Yuhao Fu, Hitech — +1.352s
- Jason Pribyl, Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing — +1.545s
Pole position: Lewis Wherrell — 1:33.033
Bedrin leads field into opening race of Barcelona finale
The opening race of the 2026 GB3 Championship season finale is scheduled to begin at 15:00 CET on Saturday, 7 November.
Bedrin will start from pole position alongside Wherrell, while Lee and Ingram Hill complete the second row. Campbell-Pilling and Fairclough will line up fifth and sixth, with the championship leader knowing that a top-seven finish would secure the title.
Meanwhile, Wherrell’s pole position in Q2 sets up an intriguing second race, with fellow newcomer Green joining him on the front row. Pulling and Molnar will start immediately behind them as Rodin Motorsport looks to strengthen its position in the Teams’ Championship.
The final two races will take place on Sunday, 8 November, bringing the 2026 season to a conclusion.
All remaining sessions can be followed through the official GB3 live timing.
