Deagen Fairclough continued his remarkable second-half form by securing both pole positions during Qualifying for the 2026 GB3 Championship’s penultimate round at Brands Hatch.
The Hitech driver topped both sessions ahead of Xcel Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling, initially setting a 1m16.451s in Qualifying 1 before smashing the GB3 Qualifying record with a 1m16.090s in Qualifying 2. The double gives Fairclough five poles from the past six Qualifying sessions as he continues to build momentum towards the end of the season.
Campbell-Pilling secured second in both sessions, although a three-place grid penalty carried over from Donington Park will drop him to fifth for Race 1. Maxim Rehm therefore moves onto the front row alongside Fairclough for Saturday afternoon’s opener, while championship leader Nikita Bedrin starts third.
Bedrin then qualified third outright for Race 2, while closest championship rival Martin Molnar took seventh and sixth respectively across the two sessions. With Bedrin carrying a 79-point championship advantage into Brands Hatch, their respective starting positions could prove important as the VRD Racing driver attempts to secure the title before Barcelona.
Fairclough converts Practice pace into Qualifying 1 pole
Fairclough entered Qualifying as the clear driver to beat after topping Friday Testing on the Indy circuit before setting a record-breaking lap during Saturday morning Practice.
The Briton immediately carried that pace into Qualifying 1. Fairclough set successive fastest laps during the early stages and initially established a 1m16.591s benchmark, while Campbell-Pilling closed to within 0.084s around the halfway point. Rehm and Bedrin also remained within two tenths as the first session developed.
Fairclough still had more pace available. With just under four minutes remaining, the Hitech driver produced a 1m16.451s to extend his advantage and establish a new GB3 Qualifying record around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Campbell-Pilling could not respond and finished 0.224s behind, continuing his strong weekend after placing fourth in Friday’s closely matched Testing. His lap initially secured a front-row start for Race 1, but the Xcel Motorsport driver carries a three-place grid penalty from the previous round at Donington Park and will therefore start fifth.
Rehm and Bedrin benefit from Campbell-Pilling penalty
Rehm produced Rodin Motorsport’s strongest Qualifying 1 performance with third. He finished 0.276s behind Fairclough and only 0.052s away from Campbell-Pilling, putting himself in position to inherit the second starting spot following the Xcel driver’s penalty.
Bedrin followed in fourth with a 1m16.772s, 0.321s away from Fairclough. Campbell-Pilling’s penalty also promotes the championship leader one position, meaning he will start Race 1 from third alongside Hitech returnee Kanato Le.
Bedrin arrived at Brands Hatch on 392 points, 79 ahead of Molnar and 87 clear of Lucas Fluxá. Eight drivers remained mathematically capable of taking the title before the weekend began, but the VRD Racing driver has the opportunity to reduce that number significantly — or potentially secure the championship — across the three Brands Hatch races.
Le completed the Qualifying 1 top five, 0.466s behind his Hitech teammate, while Abbi Pulling led the next group in sixth for Rodin Motorsport.
Molnar takes seventh as Fluxá struggles
Molnar faced a more difficult opening session as he attempted to keep his championship challenge alive. The Hungarian qualified seventh, 0.651s away from Fairclough and three positions behind Bedrin before Campbell-Pilling’s penalty altered the Race 1 order.
The result gives Bedrin an important track-position advantage over his closest championship rival. Molnar entered Brands Hatch on 313 points after reducing Bedrin’s advantage during a difficult Donington Park weekend for the championship leader, but he will need to make progress from the fourth row to prevent Bedrin from rebuilding that margin.
Peter Bouzinelos followed Molnar in eighth for Hillspeed, missing the Rodin driver by only 0.004s. Patricio Gonzalez took ninth for VRD Racing, while Dante Vinci completed the top 10 for Hillspeed. Less than eight tenths covered Fairclough and Vinci.
Fluxá endured the most difficult session among Bedrin’s three closest championship rivals. The Xcel Motorsport driver could only manage 13th, 0.893s away from pole, although the leading 15 drivers all finished within one second of Fairclough.
Fairclough goes even faster in Qualifying 2
Any suggestion that Fairclough had reached the limit in the opening session quickly disappeared when Qualifying 2 began.
Pulling, Campbell-Pilling and Rehm all spent time at the top during the early stages, but Fairclough moved ahead shortly before the halfway point and produced a stunning 1m16.090s. The lap lowered his own Qualifying record by 0.361s and secured his second pole of the morning.
The result also continued an exceptional Qualifying run for the Hitech driver. Fairclough has now secured five pole positions across the past six sessions, complementing the four victories he claimed across the previous six races before Brands Hatch. His recent results have carried him into fourth in the Drivers’ Championship despite Bedrin’s sizeable advantage at the top.
Campbell-Pilling again came closest to challenging him. The Xcel driver improved relative to Fairclough and finished 0.194s away, completing an all-British front row for Race 2. Unlike Race 1, Campbell-Pilling does not carry a penalty into the second contest, giving him the opportunity to start alongside Fairclough.
His pair of second-place results also represents his strongest overall Qualifying performance of the 2026 campaign.
Bedrin takes third as Molnar starts sixth
Bedrin improved relative to the field in Qualifying 2, securing third with a 1m16.421s. Although Fairclough remained 0.331s clear, the championship leader again qualified ahead of each of his closest title rivals.
Pulling produced Rodin Motorsport’s strongest result in fourth, finishing only 0.021s behind Bedrin. Rehm followed in fifth, while Molnar took sixth and ended the session 0.741s away from pole.
The result means three positions will separate Bedrin and Molnar when Race 2 begins on Sunday. Bedrin starts directly behind Fairclough in third, while Pulling and Rehm occupy the positions between the two championship leaders.
Vinci secured seventh for Hillspeed and led a particularly close group behind the top six. Fluxá recovered from his difficult opening session to take eighth, only 0.082s behind Vinci, while Patricio Gonzalez followed another 0.038s back in ninth.
Yuhao Fu completed the top 10 for Hitech, finishing 0.950s away from his teammate’s record-breaking pole lap. The official classification places Fu 10th ahead of Le, despite the initial report text identifying Le in that position.
2026 GB3 Brands Hatch Qualifying 1 results
- Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — 1m16.451s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — +0.224s*
- Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — +0.276s
- Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +0.321s
- Kanato Le — Hitech — +0.466s
- Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +0.505s
- Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +0.651s
- Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +0.655s
- Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +0.757s
- Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +0.780s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +0.809s
- Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +0.875s
- Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport — +0.893s
- Edu Robinson — Elite Motorsport — +0.983s
- Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — +0.990s
- Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +1.018s
- Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — +1.100s
- Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +1.115s
- Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +1.925s
- Aditya Kulkarni — AKCEL GP — No time
*Campbell-Pilling carries a three-place grid penalty from Donington Park and will start Race 1 fifth.
2026 GB3 Brands Hatch Qualifying 2 results
- Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — 1m16.090s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — +0.194s
- Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +0.331s
- Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +0.352s
- Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — +0.595s
- Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +0.741s
- Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +0.786s
- Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport — +0.868s
- Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +0.906s
- Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +0.950s
- Kanato Le — Hitech — +1.061s
- Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +1.084s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +1.142s
- Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — +1.162s
- Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — +1.194s
- Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +1.329s
- Edu Robinson — Elite Motorsport — +1.365s
- Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +1.693s
- Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +1.906s
- Aditya Kulkarni — AKCEL GP — +3.463s
Fairclough therefore leaves Qualifying with pole for both conventional-grid races and another significant demonstration of the form that has transformed his second half of the season. Campbell-Pilling joins him at the front for Race 2 but drops to fifth for the opening contest, promoting Rehm and Bedrin behind the Hitech driver.
For the championship, Bedrin has given himself another opportunity to increase his advantage. He will start ahead of Molnar and Fluxá in both races, while Fairclough’s double pole puts the fourth-placed driver in the strongest possible position to continue his recent charge.
Race 1 begins at 15:05 BST on Saturday, with Race 2 following at 11:05 BST on Sunday.
