Oleksandr Bondarev completed an exceptional FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) debut weekend by converting pole position into his maiden victory in Race 3 at Imola in 2026.
The Van Amersfoort Racing driver controlled three Safety Car restarts and resisted championship leader Emanuele Olivieri throughout the 15-lap contest to win by 0.443s. Olivieri secured second for R-ace GP and significantly strengthened his position at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, while Reno Francot completed his second podium of the weekend for CL Motorsport.
Bondarev’s victory made him the 10th different winner of the 2026 season and delivered Van Amersfoort Racing its first win of the year. Behind the podium, Tomass Štolcermanis took fourth ahead of Jules Roussel, while championship contenders Kean Nakamura-Berta and Rashid Al Dhaheri finished ninth and 10th. Sebastian Wheldon missed the points in 12th, allowing Olivieri to leave Imola with a 20-point championship advantage.
Chi penalty alters order behind FREC Imola front row
Bondarev earned pole after producing a 1:38.728 in Sunday morning’s Qualifying 2, with Olivieri securing the other front-row position after topping Group B. Francot and Roussel occupied Row 2, ahead of Štolcermanis and Maksimilian Popov.
However, a five-place grid penalty for Zhenrui Chi reshaped the midfield. The MP Motorsport driver had originally earned a place on the fifth row but dropped to 15th under Stewards’ Decision No. 25. That promoted several drivers, including championship contender Wheldon, who nevertheless still faced a difficult starting position in 13th.
Nakamura-Berta lined up ninth and Al Dhaheri 10th, leaving Olivieri with a substantial starting advantage over each of his principal title rivals. Meanwhile, Bondarev had clear track ahead as he attempted to add victory to the runner-up finish he secured in Saturday’s Race 2.
Bondarev holds lead as Olivieri covers Francot
Bondarev made a strong start from pole and retained first place into the opening sequence of corners. Olivieri settled into second and immediately covered Francot’s attempt to challenge, leaving the Dutchman third ahead of CL Motorsport teammate Roussel.
The clean opening allowed Bondarev to begin controlling the race from the front, an important advantage at Imola where overtaking remained difficult throughout the weekend. Olivieri stayed close enough to apply pressure but also had to remain aware of Francot immediately behind.
However, the field had little opportunity to establish significant gaps before the first major incident of the race. Contact between R-ace GP’s Yuki Sano and René Lammers sent the CL Motorsport driver into the barriers at Piratella.
Race Control deployed the Safety Car, immediately erasing Bondarev’s early advantage and setting up the first restart of his Formula Regional career.
Bondarev handles first FREC Safety Car restart
The field spent almost three laps behind the Safety Car before racing resumed. Bondarev controlled the restart and retained the lead, with Olivieri remaining directly behind and Francot continuing to hold third.
Olivieri initially set the provisional fastest lap as he attempted to keep pressure on the debutant. However, Bondarev responded with an improvement of his own and prevented the championship leader from creating an immediate attacking opportunity.
Further back, the championship battle continued around the edge of the top 10. Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri fought over ninth, while Wheldon remained outside the points after starting 13th.
That running order increasingly favoured Olivieri. With his closest championship rival unable to progress into the top 10, the R-ace GP driver stood to make a major gain even if he could not find a way past Bondarev for the victory.
Maschio incident triggers second Safety Car
Another interruption followed on Lap 7 when Giovanni Maschio and Alexander Abkhazava made contact at the first chicane. The incident left the RPM driver stranded in the gravel and forced Race Control to deploy the Safety Car for a second time.
The neutralisation again removed any advantage Bondarev had developed over Olivieri and Francot. Racing resumed with 9m23s remaining, giving Olivieri another opportunity to attack the leader while Francot continued to monitor both drivers from third.
Bondarev again executed the restart successfully and retained first despite Olivieri applying pressure. His ability to manage the restarts became increasingly important as the repeated interruptions prevented him from building a sustained gap.
Behind them, Štolcermanis began looking for a way past Roussel in the fight for fourth.
Štolcermanis takes fourth before third Safety Car
At the beginning of Lap 10, Štolcermanis made his move. The PREMA Racing driver attacked Roussel at the end of the main straight and completed the overtake to take fourth place.
However, the race returned to neutralised conditions almost immediately. G4 Racing’s Rahim Alibhai went off track, prompting the third Safety Car and once again compressing the field.
The timing of the interruption left only three minutes of green-flag racing once officials cleared the incident. Bondarev therefore faced one final restart with Olivieri directly behind and Francot close enough to challenge both drivers.
The repeated Safety Cars had also limited the leaders’ use of the Race Mode system, leaving them with significant capacity available for the closing laps and reducing opportunities to create a strategic advantage.
Olivieri pressures Bondarev in final sprint
Olivieri remained close when racing resumed and attempted to force Bondarev into a mistake. At the same time, Francot applied pressure from third, leaving the championship leader balancing an attack for victory against the need to protect second place.
However, Bondarev remained composed. Despite leading a Formula Regional restart for the first time during the race, the Ukrainian avoided any significant error and kept Olivieri behind through the final laps.
Olivieri ultimately found no clear passing opportunity and chose not to force a low-percentage move while Wheldon remained outside the points. Francot likewise stayed within one second of the leader but could not find a way into second.
The three crossed the line in the same order in which they had spent much of the race.
Bondarev wins on remarkable FREC debut weekend
Bondarev completed 15 laps in 32:08.788 to take his first FREC victory by 0.443s over Olivieri. The result capped a debut weekend that had already included second place in Race 2 and pole position for Race 3.
His victory also made him the 10th different winner of the season and gave Van Amersfoort Racing its first success of the 2026 campaign.
Olivieri secured another major points haul in second, while Francot finished 0.646s further back to take third for the second consecutive race. Štolcermanis followed only 0.056s behind Francot in fourth, with Roussel completing the top five.
Popov finished sixth, while Dion Gowda gave Van Amersfoort Racing another points finish in seventh. Alexandre Munoz took eighth ahead of Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri.
Olivieri stretches FREC championship advantage
Olivieri’s second place proved particularly significant for the Drivers’ Championship. He had entered Race 3 only two points ahead of Wheldon after the pair finished ninth and eighth respectively in Race 2.
However, Wheldon could only recover from 13th on the grid to 12th and therefore failed to score. Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri remained inside the points but could manage only ninth and 10th.
Consequently, Olivieri leaves Imola with a 20-point advantage over Wheldon ahead of the final round at Hockenheim. Nakamura-Berta and Al Dhaheri remain mathematically involved, but the Race 1 winner now carries a considerably stronger position into the championship finale.
Francot’s podium also completed an impressive weekend for CL Motorsport, with the Dutchman taking third in both Race 2 and Race 3 after the team’s difficult period before the summer break.
2026 FREC Imola Race 3 results
- #11 Oleksandr Bondarev — Van Amersfoort Racing — 32:08.788
- #73 Emanuele Olivieri — R-ace GP — +0.443s
- #69 Reno Francot — CL Motorsport — +1.089s
- #60 Tomass Štolcermanis — PREMA Racing — +1.145s
- #24 Jules Roussel — CL Motorsport — +2.473s
- #33 Maksimilian Popov — Trident Motorsport — +2.532s
- #55 Dion Gowda — Van Amersfoort Racing — +3.236s
- #95 Alexandre Munoz — ART Grand Prix — +3.740s
- #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta — PREMA Racing — +4.043s
- #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri — R-ace GP — +4.388s
- #67 Marcus Sæter — G4 Racing — +4.878s
- #98 Sebastian Wheldon — MP Motorsport — +5.001s
- #2 Alex Ninovic — Rodin Motorsport — +5.990s
- #4 Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — +6.572s
- #8 Jan Przyrowski — RPM — +7.450s
- #5 Miguel Costa — RPM — +7.473s
- #27 Mattéo Giaccardi — ART Grand Prix — +7.750s
- #87 Kai Daryanani — Trident Motorsport — +8.928s
- #7 Andrea Dupé — Van Amersfoort Racing — +10.308s
- #19 Kabir Anurag — ART Grand Prix — +10.407s
- #47 Andrija Kostić — Trident Motorsport — +10.604s
- #3 Saqer Almaosherji — G4 Racing — +11.028s
- #28 Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — +12.761s
Retired: Rahim Alibhai, Alexander Abkhazava, Giovanni Maschio, Salim Hanna, Gabriel Gomez, René Lammers and Yuki Sano.
Fastest lap: Zhenrui Chi — 1:40.447, Lap 14.
Race 3 penalties and notes
Kabir Anurag received a five-second time penalty under Stewards’ Decision No. 29. The final classification therefore places him 20th behind Andrea Dupé.
Bondarev’s victory concludes the penultimate round of the 2026 season, with FREC now heading directly to Hockenheim for the championship-deciding finale.
