2026 | FREC | Imola | Qualifying 1 | Olivieri takes pole as title fight tightens

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Emanuele Olivieri claimed his second pole position of the 2026 FREC season at Imola after setting the fastest time across Friday afternoon’s two Qualifying groups.

The R-ace GP rookie, racing under the ACI Team Italia banner on home soil, followed his Free Practice benchmark with a 1:39.227 in Group B. PREMA Racing rookie Tomass Štolcermanis topped Group A with a 1:39.493 and will line up alongside Olivieri on the front row for Saturday morning’s opening race.

Olivieri also collected two championship points for pole, reducing his deficit to leader Kean Nakamura-Berta to 18 points. The Italian now sits only five points behind both Rashid Al Dhaheri and Sebastian Wheldon, who remain tied ahead of him in the standings.

Štolcermanis tops interrupted Group A

Al Dhaheri established the first representative benchmark in Group A with a 1:39.659, while CL Motorsport’s Reno Francot followed only 0.049s behind. ART Grand Prix rookie Alexandre Munoz then moved ahead with a 1:39.580 as the pace continued to improve late in the session.

Štolcermanis produced the decisive lap shortly afterwards, recording a 1:39.493 to move 0.087s clear of Munoz. A late Red Flag then ended the session before the remaining drivers could complete another meaningful attempt, securing the PREMA rookie top spot in the group.

Munoz remained second ahead of Al Dhaheri, while Francot took fourth. FREC debutant Oleksandr Bondarev continued his impressive first weekend with Van Amersfoort Racing in fifth, only 0.352s from Štolcermanis.

Group A results

Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing — 1:39.493
Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +0.087s
Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP — +0.117s
Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +0.215s
Oleksandr Bondarev — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.352s
Salim Hanna — PREMA Racing — +0.363s
Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing — +0.435s
Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — +0.452s
Gabriel Gomez — Rodin Motorsport — +0.465s
Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +0.473s
Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing — +0.589s
Miguel Costa — RPM — +0.653s
Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport — +0.865s
Saqer Almaosherji — G4 Racing — +0.961s
Rahim Alibhai — G4 Racing — +1.046s

Red Flag leaves Nakamura-Berta seventh in Group A

Nakamura-Berta was among those unable to improve before the stoppage and finished seventh in Group A with a 1:39.928. The championship leader ended the session one position behind PREMA teammate Salim Hanna and 0.435s away from Štolcermanis’ benchmark.

Alex Ninovic caused the late Red Flag, and the Stewards subsequently deleted his fastest lap for causing the stoppage. The Rodin Motorsport driver nevertheless remained 10th in the final Group A classification with a 1:39.966.

The group result carries significant championship consequences, with Nakamura-Berta set to start Race 1 from 14th while several of his closest rivals line up considerably further forward. Therefore, Olivieri, Al Dhaheri and Wheldon all have an opportunity to reduce his advantage on Saturday.

Olivieri takes control of Group B

Olivieri quickly emerged as the benchmark when Group B began, becoming the first driver below the 1:40 barrier with a 1:39.777. He improved to 1:39.506 on his second push lap, already bringing himself close to Štolcermanis’ earlier Group A benchmark.

Jules Roussel initially slotted into second before Wheldon and Kabir Anurag joined the fight behind the R-ace GP driver. With two minutes and 30 seconds remaining, Olivieri found another substantial improvement and produced a 1:39.227, moving 0.266s clear of the fastest Group A time.

Marcus Saeter initially climbed to second with a 1:39.654, but the G4 Racing rookie was later disqualified under Stewards’ Decision No. 14. His exclusion promoted Wheldon to second in the final Group B classification, with Mattéo Giaccardi moving to third.

Group B results

Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP — 1:39.227
Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport — +0.468s
Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +0.473s
Alexander Abkhazava — MP Motorsport — +0.501s
Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — +0.534s
Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport — +0.553s
Maksimilian Popov — Trident Motorsport — +0.557s
Andrija Kostic — Trident Motorsport — +0.642s
Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — +0.877s
René Lammers — CL Motorsport — +0.905s
Jan Przyrowski — RPM — +1.032s
Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing — +1.079s
Yuki Sano — R-ace GP — +1.226s
Giovanni Maschio — RPM — +1.807s
DSQ. Marcus Saeter — G4 Racing — 1:39.654

Wheldon promoted as Saeter loses second in Group B

Saeter’s disqualification had an important effect on both the Group B classification and the combined grid. His original time would have placed him second in the group and among the leading starters for Race 1, but his removal elevated Wheldon to second behind Olivieri.

Giaccardi inherited third, only 0.005s behind Wheldon, while MP Motorsport’s Alexander Abkhazava took fourth. Anurag completed the top five, with Roussel, Popov and Kostic following closely behind in an extremely competitive midfield group.

Olivieri remained comfortably clear at the front, however, with his 1:39.227 leaving Wheldon 0.468s behind. The Italian therefore secured overall pole ahead of Štolcermanis once the two groups were combined.

Olivieri gains ground in FREC title fight

The combined format alternates the positions from the two Qualifying groups, putting Olivieri and Štolcermanis together on the front row. Wheldon starts third alongside Munoz, while Giaccardi and Al Dhaheri occupy the third row.

Bondarev’s fifth place in Group A gives the Ukrainian an impressive 10th on the Race 1 grid on his FREC debut weekend. Nakamura-Berta, meanwhile, starts only 14th after his interrupted session, giving Olivieri an immediate opportunity to make further championship gains.

The two points for pole already reduced Olivieri’s deficit to 18 points, while Wheldon and Al Dhaheri remain only five ahead of him. Race 1 therefore has the potential to produce another significant shift in the standings when action resumes at 10:10 CEST on Saturday.