Sebastian Wheldon of MP Motorsport delivered a composed drive through a chaotic race to claim victory in Race 2 of the 2026 FIA Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) at Zandvoort, beating pole-sitter Kean Nakamura-Berta of PREMA Racing after a late Safety Car set up a dramatic final-lap dash to the flag.
Nakamura-Berta had started from pole after a strong Qualifying performance, with Wheldon alongside him on the front row. Reno Francot of CL Motorsport and Rashid Al Dhaheri of R-ace GP lined up behind them, setting the stage for a competitive fight at the front.
Wheldon attacks at the start as early chaos strikes
When the lights went out, Wheldon launched well and immediately tried to challenge Nakamura-Berta for the lead. Battles broke out across the field as drivers went wheel-to-wheel through the opening corners, but Nakamura-Berta held firm at the front.
Further back, Marcus Sæter of G4 Racing ran wide and lost ground, while Yuki Sano of R-ace GP and Kabir Anurag of ART Grand Prix fought over position. The race soon came under Safety Car conditions after an incident involving Giovanni Maschio of RPM, Kai Daryanani of Trident Motorsport and Andrija Kostić of Trident Motorsport. Kostić’s car overturned in the accident, but all three drivers emerged unhurt, although their races ended on the spot.
Race control then suspended the action with a red flag to allow officials to recover the damaged cars safely.
Red flag delay resets the race
After a lengthy stoppage, the field resumed behind the Safety Car with around 24 minutes remaining. Nakamura-Berta led the pack back to racing speed, with Wheldon in close pursuit.
The restart quickly brought the action back to life. Francot and Al Dhaheri fought hard behind the leading pair, while Emanuele Olivieri of R-ace GP pressured Tomass Štolcermanis of PREMA Racing and Dion Gowda of Van Amersfoort Racing challenged Alexander Abkhazava of MP Motorsport further back.
Nakamura-Berta initially kept control of the race, but Wheldon continued to apply pressure and soon found a way past. Once ahead, the MP Motorsport driver began to edge clear, while Nakamura-Berta and Francot tried to stay within reach.
Wheldon takes control as battles intensify
Wheldon gradually built a gap at the front, but Nakamura-Berta refused to let him escape. Behind them, Francot held third while Al Dhaheri kept him under constant pressure for the final podium place.
Olivieri moved up to sixth after getting ahead of Štolcermanis, who then also lost out to Alexandre Munoz of ART Grand Prix. Meanwhile, contact between Francisco Macedo of Van Amersfoort Racing and Miguel Costa of RPM sent Macedo down the order. The stewards later handed Costa a five-second penalty for causing the collision.
Saqer Al Maosherji of G4 Racing also had a difficult race after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He later ran wide into the gravel but managed to recover and continue.
Late Safety Car creates final-lap showdown
With ten minutes remaining, Wheldon led by more than a second as the front of the field began to settle. Nakamura-Berta had also opened a cushion over the fight between Francot and Al Dhaheri, while Chi held fifth and Olivieri ran sixth.
The race then took another dramatic turn when Maksimilian Popov of Trident Motorsport and Andrea Dupé of Van Amersfoort Racing collided while fighting over 11th place. Popov retired from the race, and the Safety Car returned to the circuit.
Officials cleared the incident quickly enough to allow one final racing lap. With the gaps neutralised, Nakamura-Berta had one last chance to attack Wheldon for victory.
Wheldon holds firm to win
Wheldon led the field back to green and immediately came under pressure from Nakamura-Berta. The PREMA Racing driver looked for a late move into Turn 2, but Wheldon defended the lead and kept his rival behind.
Francot also held firm under pressure from Al Dhaheri to secure third place, while Zhenrui Chi of MP Motorsport completed the top five. Olivieri crossed the line sixth, ahead of Štolcermanis, Munoz, Abkhazava and Gowda.
After a tense final lap, Wheldon took the win ahead of Nakamura-Berta, with Francot completing the podium.
2026 FREC: Zandvoort Race 2 results (Provisional)
- #98 Sebastian Wheldon – MP Motorsport
- #51 Kean Nakamura-Berta – PREMA Racing
- #69 Reno Francot – CL Motorsport
- #71 Rashid Al Dhaheri – R-ace GP
- #28 Zhenrui Chi – MP Motorsport
- #73 Emanuele Olivieri – R-ace GP
- #60 Tomass Štolcermanis – PREMA Racing
- #95 Alexandre Munoz – ART Grand Prix
- #15 Alexander Abkhazava – MP Motorsport
- #55 Dion Gowda – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #7 Andrea Dupé – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #4 Reza Seewooruthun – Rodin Motorsport
- #8 Jan Przyrowski – RPM
- #88 Salim Hanna – PREMA Racing
- #2 Alex Ninovic – Rodin Motorsport
- #12 Yuki Sano – R-ace GP
- #24 Jules Roussel – CL Motorsport
- #19 Kabir Anurag – ART Grand Prix
- #27 Matteo Giaccardi – ART Grand Prix
- #9 Thomas Strauven – CL Motorsport
- #78 Gabriel Gomez – Rodin Motorsport
- #67 Marcus Sæter – G4 Racing
- #23 Rahim Alibhai – G4 Racing
- #11 Francisco Macedo – Van Amersfoort Racing
- #5 Miguel Costa – RPM
- #3 Saqer Al Maosherji – G4 Racing
- #33 Maksimilian Popov – Trident Motorsport
NC:
- #47 Andrija Kostić – Trident Motorsport
- #99 Giovanni Maschio – RPM
- #87 Kai Daryanani – Trident Motorsport
