2026 | FREC | Imola | Pre-Event Test | Bondarev tops Test 1, Wheldon fastest overall in Test 2

Oleksandr Bondarev made an immediate impression on his FREC debut by topping the opening 2026 Pre-Event Test session at Imola, before Sebastian Wheldon set the fastest time overall during the afternoon.

Van Amersfoort Racing newcomer Bondarev led the opening two-hour session with a 1:39.924, edging Trident Motorsport’s Maksimilian Popov by just 0.038s. MP Motorsport’s Wheldon then lowered the benchmark to 1:39.761 in Test 2, finishing 0.093s clear of teammate Zhenrui Chi as 27 drivers ended the afternoon within one second.

Bondarev impresses on FREC debut to top Pre-Event Test 1

Bondarev immediately established himself among the frontrunners during his first official FREC session after joining Van Amersfoort Racing for the final two rounds of the season.

Reno Francot initially featured prominently for CL Motorsport, lowering the benchmark several times before Bondarev moved to the top with a 1:40.481. The Ukrainian then became the first driver below the 1:40 barrier with a 1:39.936 before improving again to his session-topping 1:39.924.

Popov came closest to displacing the debutant, setting a 1:39.962 to finish only 0.038s behind. Francot ultimately took third with a 1:40.106, 0.182s away from the benchmark, while G4 Racing rookie Marcus Saeter placed fourth.

Championship leader Kean Nakamura-Berta completed the top five for PREMA Racing with a 1:40.258. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Dion Gowda followed in sixth, putting two of the team’s cars inside the leading six.

Rashid Al Dhaheri began the penultimate round 13 points behind Nakamura-Berta and finished seventh for R-ace GP. Rodin Motorsport pair Reza Seewooruthun and Alex Ninovic occupied eighth and ninth, while RPM’s Jan Przyrowski completed the top 10.

Wheldon, who entered Imola level on points with Al Dhaheri, finished only 19th in the opening session with a 1:40.803. His afternoon performance would produce a significantly different result.

2026 FREC Imola Pre-Event Test 1 results

1. #11 Oleksandr Bondarev (R) (Van Amersfoort Racing): 1:39.924
2. #33 Maksimilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.038
3. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.182
4. #67 Marcus Saeter (R) (G4 Racing): +0.284
5. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.334
6. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.362
7. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.393
8. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): +0.406
9. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.442
10. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.547
11. #78 Gabriel Gomez (R) (Rodin Motorsport): +0.548
12. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.556
13. #60 Tomass Stolcermanis (R) (PREMA Racing): +0.623
14. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +0.693
15. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +0.756
16. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R) (R-ace GP): +0.818
17. #3 Saqer Almaosherji (G4 Racing): +0.841
18. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.866
19. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): +0.879
20. #27 Mattéo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.883
21. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +0.910
22. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): +0.915
23. #95 Alexandre Munoz (R) (ART Grand Prix): +0.975
24. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +1.091
25. #47 Andrija Kostic (Trident Motorsport): +1.112
26. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +1.169
27. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +1.364
28. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +1.667
29. #23 Rahim Alibhai (R) (G4 Racing): +1.747
30. #17 René Lammers (CL Motorsport): No time

Wheldon leads MP Motorsport one-two in Pre-Event Test 2

Wheldon responded to his quiet morning by topping the second session and setting the quickest lap of Thursday overall.

Al Dhaheri and Popov traded the early benchmark before Wheldon entered the fight, initially producing a 1:40.043. Rookie Championship leader Emanuele Olivieri briefly lowered the benchmark to 1:40.002 before PREMA’s Tomass Stolcermanis became the first afternoon driver below 1:40 with a 1:39.962.

Nakamura-Berta then moved ahead with a 1:39.877, but Wheldon responded in the closing stages. He first recorded a 1:39.842 and improved to 1:39.788 before setting the eventual 1:39.761 benchmark shortly before the session ended.

Chi completed an MP Motorsport one-two with a 1:39.854, leaving him 0.093s behind his teammate and just 0.023s ahead of Nakamura-Berta in third. The championship leader therefore finished inside the top five in both Thursday sessions.

Gowda climbed from sixth in the morning to fourth in the afternoon, while Francot maintained his strong start to the weekend in fifth. Stolcermanis finished sixth and led the rookies ahead of Olivieri, with Rodin Motorsport pair Gabriel Gomez and Ninovic eighth and ninth.

Popov rounded out the top 10 after finishing second to Bondarev in the morning. Al Dhaheri followed in 11th, while Bondarev ended his second FREC session 15th after completing 31 laps.

Close margins dominate Imola afternoon testing

The afternoon classification underlined the competitive margins ahead of the penultimate round, with 27 of the 30 cars covered by less than one second.

Only Kai Daryanani, Giovanni Maschio and Rahim Alibhai finished more than a second away from Wheldon’s benchmark. The top six were separated by just 0.201s, while less than half a second covered the leading 12 drivers.

Fellow FREC debutant René Lammers also completed his first official running for CL Motorsport after failing to record a lap in Test 1. The Dutchman completed 40 laps, more than any other driver during Test 2, and finished 24th with a 1:40.654.

Several Red Flags interrupted the two-hour afternoon session, while track limits at Turns 14 and 19 also resulted in numerous deleted laps. Wheldon himself lost a 1:39.779 earlier in the session before ultimately setting an even quicker valid time.

2026 FREC Imola Pre-Event Test 2 results

1. #98 Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): 1:39.761
2. #28 Zhenrui Chi (MP Motorsport): +0.093
3. #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta (PREMA Racing): +0.116
4. #55 Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.175
5. #69 Reno Francot (CL Motorsport): +0.183
6. #60 Tomass Stolcermanis (R) (PREMA Racing): +0.201
7. #73 Emanuele Olivieri (R) (R-ace GP): +0.241
8. #78 Gabriel Gomez (R) (Rodin Motorsport): +0.307
9. #2 Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport): +0.330
10. #33 Maksimilian Popov (Trident Motorsport): +0.398
11. #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP): +0.430
12. #88 Salim Hanna (PREMA Racing): +0.442
13. #4 Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport): +0.551
14. #8 Jan Przyrowski (RPM): +0.576
15. #11 Oleksandr Bondarev (R) (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.625
16. #24 Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport): +0.703
17. #67 Marcus Saeter (R) (G4 Racing): +0.728
18. #27 Mattéo Giaccardi (ART Grand Prix): +0.731
19. #3 Saqer Almaosherji (G4 Racing): +0.750
20. #47 Andrija Kostic (Trident Motorsport): +0.764
21. #15 Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport): +0.775
22. #19 Kabir Anurag (ART Grand Prix): +0.805
23. #95 Alexandre Munoz (R) (ART Grand Prix): +0.841
24. #17 René Lammers (CL Motorsport): +0.893
25. #7 Andrea Dupé (Van Amersfoort Racing): +0.896
26. #5 Miguel Costa (RPM): +0.908
27. #12 Yuki Sano (R-ace GP): +0.994
28. #87 Kai Daryanani (Trident Motorsport): +1.328
29. #99 Giovanni Maschio (RPM): +1.339
30. #23 Rahim Alibhai (R) (G4 Racing): +1.510

The Imola weekend continues on Friday with the sole 50-minute Free Practice session at 09:55 local time. Qualifying 1 follows at 15:15 as the championship enters the penultimate round with Nakamura-Berta holding a 13-point advantage over Al Dhaheri and Wheldon