Xcel Motorsport’s Lucas Fluxá claimed his first victory of the 2026 GB3 season in Race 3 at Brands Hatch, while championship leader Nikita Bedrin’s false-start penalty ensured the Drivers’ Championship will go down to the final round in Barcelona.
Fluxá produced the decisive move immediately, launching from fourth and sweeping into the lead on the run towards Paddock Hill Bend. He remained there for all 19 laps and resisted Hitech’s Yuhao Fu to win by 0.844s, keeping his own outside championship hopes alive.
Fu secured his maiden GB3 podium in second, while returning Hitech driver Kanato Le completed the podium after passing Hillspeed’s Dante Vinci late in the race. Deagen Fairclough continued his outstanding Brands Hatch weekend by charging from 12th to fifth and setting the fastest lap, a result that elevated him to Bedrin’s closest championship challenger heading into Barcelona.
Fluxá launches from fourth into the lead
Peter Bouzinelos started the reverse-grid contest from pole for Hillspeed, with Fu alongside him and VRD Racing’s Patricio Gonzalez third. However, Fluxá immediately transformed the complexion of the race from fourth.
The Xcel Motorsport driver made the strongest start among the leading group and surged past the cars ahead on the approach to Paddock Hill Bend. By the time the field exited the opening corner, Fluxá had taken control of a race that carried significant implications for his remaining championship hopes.
The Spaniard had entered Brands Hatch among the drivers mathematically capable of challenging championship leader Bedrin. However, the opening two races had not delivered the results he needed while Fairclough dominated from pole.
Race 3 provided a crucial response. Once Fluxá established himself at the front, he controlled the pace and prevented Fu from creating a genuine opportunity to take the lead. The Hitech driver remained within striking distance throughout, but Fluxá refused to make the mistake required to open the door.
After 19 laps, Fluxá crossed the line in 25m03.199s to secure his first victory of the season. Fu followed just 0.844s behind, with Le another 0.432s back in third.
The result keeps Fluxá mathematically involved in the championship battle ahead of Barcelona, ensuring his breakthrough victory arrived at a particularly important point in the season.
Fu takes maiden podium as Le charges into third
Fu converted his front-row starting position into the strongest result of his GB3 career so far.
The Hitech driver could not prevent Fluxá from taking the lead at the start but remained close throughout the race. His 1m18.338s best lap demonstrated the pace available to him, while he kept the gap to the leader below a second at the chequered flag.
Behind, Le produced another strong performance on his return to the championship. Starting fifth, he moved into contention for the podium and spent much of the race pursuing Vinci.
The decisive move arrived on lap 13 when Le passed the Hillspeed driver to take third. He subsequently held the position to the finish, crossing the line 1.276s behind Fluxá and giving Hitech two cars on the podium.
Vinci had to settle for fourth, 3.186s behind Le, but still secured a strong result for Hillspeed after starting sixth.
The double podium completed another successful race for Hitech on a weekend the team had largely controlled. Fairclough had entered Sunday after taking a record-breaking double pole in Qualifying before converting both front-row starts into victories in the opening two races.
Fairclough charges from 12th to fifth
Despite starting Race 3 from 12th, Fairclough again emerged as one of the central figures.
The Hitech driver entered the reverse-grid contest having dominated the conventional-grid portion of the Brands Hatch weekend. His pace had been apparent from Friday, when he edged Bedrin by just 0.016s in Testing, before carrying that momentum into Saturday.
Starting deeper in the field for Race 3 forced Fairclough to demonstrate his racecraft rather than simply controlling proceedings from the front. He responded with several overtakes as he worked his way towards the leading group.
Fairclough’s recovery included a late move on Rodin Motorsport’s Maxim Rehm at Paddock Hill Bend. He eventually climbed seven positions from 12th to fifth in the amended classification, finishing 7.069s behind Fluxá.
His final lap also produced the fastest time of the race. Fairclough set a 1m17.984s on lap 19, averaging 112.32mph around the Brands Hatch GP circuit and finishing as the only driver to break into the 1m17s.
The recovery completed another major weekend for Fairclough, whose second half of the season has transformed his championship position. Having already taken four victories across the previous two rounds before Brands Hatch, his two wins and fifth place during Round 7 moved him into the position of Bedrin’s nearest championship rival ahead of Barcelona.
Bedrin false start proves costly
While Fairclough continued his charge through the championship standings, Bedrin endured a much more difficult finale.
The VRD Racing driver started 10th and faced the challenge of working his way forward through the reverse-grid field. However, his race was compromised before the lights had even gone out.
Bedrin moved on the starting grid before the start and subsequently received a 10-second penalty for a false start.
On track, he nevertheless produced a combative recovery. Bedrin fought his way to seventh and, like Fairclough, passed Rehm late in the contest. Without the penalty, the result would have provided another useful points finish as he attempted to move closer to securing the championship with one round remaining.
Instead, the additional 10 seconds dropped him from seventh on the road to 11th in the amended classification, 18.525s behind Fluxá.
That penalty proved particularly significant for the championship. Bedrin had arrived at Brands Hatch with a 79-point advantage over Martin Molnar, but the combination of Fairclough’s exceptional weekend and Bedrin’s reduced Race 3 score means the title remains unresolved.
Four drivers will consequently travel to Barcelona with a mathematical opportunity to become the 2026 GB3 champion, with Fairclough now Bedrin’s closest challenger.
Jackes climbs eight places into the top 10
Several drivers produced substantial recoveries behind the championship protagonists.
Patricio Gonzalez finished sixth for VRD Racing after starting third, with Rehm following in seventh. Rowan Campbell-Pilling climbed three positions from 11th to eighth for Xcel Motorsport, while Abbi Pulling retained ninth after starting from the same position.
Elite Motorsport’s Flynn Jackes produced the largest gain of any classified finisher. Starting 18th, he carved his way through the field to take 10th, gaining eight positions during the 19-lap race and finishing just 0.420s behind Pulling.
Bedrin followed in 11th after his penalty, while pole-sitter Bouzinelos endured an even more dramatic fall through the classification.
The Hillspeed driver had initially finished fifth on the road after starting from pole, but repeated track-limit infringements resulted in two separate penalties. He first received five seconds before an additional 10-second sanction brought his total penalty to 15 seconds. Bouzinelos consequently dropped to 12th in the final provisional classification.
Kyuho Lee took 13th for Elite Motorsport ahead of Molnar, whose difficult race dropped him from seventh on the grid to 14th. Rodrigo Gonzalez, Edu Robinson and Leon Wilson followed, with Ricardo Baptista and Aditya Kulkarni completing the classified runners.
Aurelia Nobels was the only retirement, completing 11 laps before her race ended.
Four drivers take championship fight to Barcelona
Brands Hatch ultimately transformed the championship picture without producing a champion.
Bedrin entered Round 7 with a substantial advantage, but Fairclough’s extraordinary recent run continued with two victories and a recovery from 12th to fifth. The Hitech driver consequently leaves Brands Hatch as Bedrin’s nearest rival.
Fluxá’s Race 3 victory also proved essential to keeping his own championship challenge mathematically alive. Rather than seeing his hopes disappear during a weekend dominated by Fairclough, the Xcel Motorsport driver maximised the reverse-grid opportunity and took the 35 points available for victory.
Molnar also remains in contention despite finishing only 14th in Race 3. That leaves Bedrin, Fairclough, Molnar and Fluxá as the four drivers still mathematically capable of taking the championship when the season concludes in Barcelona.
Fairclough nevertheless leaves Brands Hatch with the strongest momentum. He began the weekend by topping Friday Testing, took both poles, won Races 1 and 2 and then gained seven places while setting the fastest lap in Race 3.
Fluxá prevented him from completing a clean sweep, however, and did so with his own championship ambitions on the line. His launch from fourth proved decisive, and after leading all 19 laps, he heads to Barcelona as a race winner and still mathematically in the title fight.
2026 GB3 Brands Hatch Race 3 — results
- Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport — 19 laps — 25m03.199s
- Yuhao Fu — Hitech — +0.844s
- Kanato Le — Hitech — +1.276s
- Dante Vinci — Hillspeed — +4.462s
- Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — +7.069s
- Patricio Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +10.925s
- Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport — +11.734s
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport — +12.368s
- Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport — +12.775s
- Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport — +13.195s
- Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing — +18.525s*
- Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed — +19.854s†
- Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport — +20.394s
- Martin Molnar — Rodin Motorsport — +20.992s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez — VRD Racing — +21.468s
- Edu Robinson — Elite Motorsport — +21.874s
- Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport — +22.242s
- Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport — +30.225s
- Aditya Kulkarni — AKCEL GP — +48.604s
DNF. Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed — 11 laps
Fastest lap: Deagen Fairclough — Hitech — 1m17.984s, lap 19.
* Bedrin received a 10-second penalty for a false start.
† Bouzinelos received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits and an additional 10-second penalty for further track-limit infringements.
