Alexander Abkhazava delivered a controlled and confident drive to win Race 3 of the 2026 FRME Trophy at Dubai, capitalising on Alex Powell’s absence from pole position. Despite late pressure, Safety Car interruptions, and post-race penalties reshuffling the order behind him, the MP Motorsport driver never relinquished control. Kean Nakamura-Berta finished second to claim rookie honours, while Emanuele Olivieri completed the podium after a hard-fought race.
Abkhazava leads the field; polesitter Powell does not start
Before the start, uncertainty surrounded polesitter Alex Powell after his Race 2 stoppage. Although officials briefly considered a pit lane start, Powell ultimately failed to take the start, leaving Alexander Abkhazava alone on the front row.
Meanwhile, Yuki Sano withdrew following his Race 2 collision, promoting several drivers up the grid. As a result, Kean Nakamura-Berta and Alex Ninovic moved onto Row 2, ahead of Emanuele Olivieri and Sebastian Wheldon on Row 3. Championship leader Rashid Al Dhaheri started from P10, with a tightly packed midfield behind him.
Strong launch as Abkhazava seizes control as early battles shape the fight for points
After a clean formation lap, the field lined up with Powell’s grid box empty. When the lights went out, Abkhazava launched cleanly and immediately took advantage of the clear track ahead.
Although Nakamura-Berta initially challenged, Alex Ninovic briefly slipped through before Nakamura-Berta reclaimed second. Behind them, Olivieri gained ground with a strong start, while Dion Gowda moved ahead of Wheldon. Despite early midfield skirmishes and a brief stall on the grid, the leaders avoided trouble.
As Abkhazava built a small gap, battles erupted behind him. Olivieri passed Ninovic to take third, drawing Gowda into the podium fight. Further back, Jan Przyrowski emerged from a three-way contest with Wheldon and Taito Kato, while Wheldon later recovered the position.
Meanwhile, Abkhazava used clean air to extend his advantage, even as the midfield remained intensely competitive.
Safety Car resets the field
With around 20 minutes remaining, Alceu Feldmann Neto hit the wall after contact, shedding a tyre and triggering a lengthy Safety Car period. The interruption erased Abkhazava’s lead and compressed the field, setting up a tense restart.
Following the restart, Nakamura-Berta stayed glued to Abkhazava’s gearbox and launched multiple overtaking attempts, notably at Turns 10, 14 and 16. Each time, Abkhazava defended decisively and maintained track position.
Olivieri closed in as well, briefly turning the fight for the lead into a three-car battle. However, Abkhazava resisted every challenge and gradually edged clear once more.
With seven minutes remaining, Ninovic dropped out of contention after a collision at Turn 16, promoting Gowda before later penalties intervened. Elsewhere, Salim Hanna impressed with an aggressive charge, including a three-wide move that lifted him into the top ten.
As the clock wound down, multiple drivers fought over the remaining points-paying positions, while Abkhazava calmly managed the gap out front. Abkhazava crossed the line first to secure his second win of the season. Nakamura-Berta followed in second, sealing the rookie victory, with Olivieri third.
Race 3: Standings: 2026 FRME: Round 3: Dubai (Provisional)
- Alexander Abkhazava
- Kean Nakamura-Berta
- Emanuele Olivieri
- Dion Gowda
- Jan Przyrowski
- Sebastian Wheldon
- Taito Kato
- Salim Hanna
- Jules Roussel
- Francisco Macedo
- Andrea Dupé
- Jesse Carrasquedo
- Andrija Kostic
- Miguel Costa
- Reza Seewooruthun
- Rashid Al Dhaheri
- Kai Daryanani
- Artem Severiukhin
- August Raber
- Kabir Anurag
- Giovanni Maschio
- Enea Frey
- Maximilian Popov
- Yuhao Fu
- Matteo Giaccardi
- Alex Ninovic
- Zhenrui Chi
- Maxim Rehm
- Reno Francot
DNF: Alceu Feldmann Neto
DNS: Alex Powell, Yuki Sano
Penalties reshape the final order
However, post-race penalties altered the classification. Time penalties dropped Dion Gowda and Sebastian Wheldon down the order, promoting Jan Przyrowski to fourth and Taito Kato to fifth. Despite the reshuffle, the podium remained unchanged.
Race 3: Standings: 2026 FRME: Round 3: Dubai (Final)
- Alexander Abkhazava
- Kean Nakamura-Berta
- Emanuele Olivieri
- Jan Przyrowski
- Taito Kato
- Salim Hanna
- Jules Roussel
- Francisco Macedo
- Sebastian Wheldon (Originally P6, 10 seconds time penalty for gaining an advantage off track)
- Dion Gowda (Originally P4, 10 seconds time penalty for causing a collision
- Andrea Dupé
- Jesse Carrasquedo
- Andrija Kostic
- Miguel Costa
- Reza Seewooruthun
- Rashid Al Dhaheri
- Kai Daryanani
- Artem Severiukhin
- August Raber
- Kabir Anurag
- Giovanni Maschio
- Enea Frey
- Maximilian Popov
- Yuhao Fu
- Matteo Giaccardi
- Alex Ninovic
- Maxim Rehm
- Zhenrui Chi (Originally P27, 5 second time penalty for causing a collision)
- Reno Francot (+11 laps)
DNF: Alceu Feldmann Neto
DNS: Alex Powell, Yuki Sano
