The 2026 GB3 Championship returns to action at Donington Park this weekend as championship leader Nikita Bedrin looks to strengthen his position with three rounds remaining after the East Midlands event.
Drivers will receive three testing sessions on Thursday and another three on Friday before two separate Qualifying sessions and Race 1 begin the competitive action on Saturday. Race 2 and the reversed-grid Race 3 will complete Round 6 on Sunday.
Bedrin arrives at Donington with 363 points and a commanding 103-point advantage over Martin Molnar. Lucas Fluxá sits another 11 points behind in third, while Maxim Rehm remains firmly involved on 237. However, the battle further down the championship has tightened significantly after Deagen Fairclough and Rowan Campbell-Pilling emerged as two of the strongest performers during the previous Silverstone weekend.
The GB3 field also possesses substantial experience of Donington in the current Tatuus MSV GB3-025 after completing two days of official pre-season testing at the circuit in March. Molnar topped both days and set the overall benchmark, while Campbell-Pilling, Rehm, Abbi Pulling, Flynn Jackes and several other current contenders featured prominently.
Bedrin looks to rebuild momentum after challenging Silverstone round
Bedrin remains firmly in control of the Drivers’ Championship despite experiencing his least productive event of the season last time out at Silverstone.
The VRD Racing driver won six of the opening 11 races and claimed at least one victory at each of the first four events. That exceptional run allowed him to build a championship advantage of more than 100 points before the second Silverstone visit.
However, Qualifying proved more difficult during Round 5. Bedrin started the opening races from 11th and sixth before recovering to eighth and fifth. He then finished fifth again in the reversed-grid finale, ending a weekend in which he failed to reach the podium for the first time in 2026.
His consistency still protected his championship advantage. Bedrin now holds 363 points, giving him a 103-point cushion over Molnar with nine races remaining across Donington, Brands Hatch and Barcelona after five completed rounds.
Donington therefore provides an opportunity for the championship leader to return to the form that defined the first half of his campaign. Even without matching his earlier run of victories, another consistent points haul would place increasing pressure on those attempting to reduce his substantial advantage.
View the current GB3 Drivers’ Championship standings
Molnar returns to circuit where he dominated pre-season testing
Molnar enters Round 6 as Bedrin’s nearest challenger on 260 points and returns to a venue where he established himself as the benchmark during March testing.
The Rodin Motorsport driver topped three of the four sessions on the opening day, ending Wednesday with a 1m21.130s. He then improved significantly on Thursday and produced a 1m20.367s, almost two seconds faster than the previous outright GB3 lap record at Donington.
Molnar led five of the eight sessions across the two-day test and finished only 0.057s ahead of Campbell-Pilling on the final combined classification. His Rodin teammates also demonstrated strong pace, with Rehm third and Pulling fourth on the second day.
The Hungarian has since developed into Bedrin’s closest championship rival. At the previous Silverstone round, he finished second to Fairclough in Race 1 before taking fourth in Race 2. Those results helped him retain second in the standings and maintain an 11-point advantage over Fluxá.
Although the gap to Bedrin remains considerable, Donington represents one of Molnar’s strongest opportunities to reduce it. He already knows the upgraded GB3 car works well for him around the circuit, while Rodin’s overall strength during pre-season testing suggests the team possesses a useful starting point before Thursday’s first session.
Fluxá and Rehm remain firmly in fight behind Molnar
Fluxá sits third on 249 points and remains only 11 behind Molnar, keeping the battle for second considerably closer than the fight for the championship lead.
The Xcel Motorsport driver has developed strong consistency during the middle part of the season. He finished second behind Bedrin in Race 1 at the Red Bull Ring and repeated that result in Race 2, before adding another podium at Silverstone when he finished third behind Fairclough and teammate Campbell-Pilling.
Fluxá also demonstrated promising Donington pace during pre-season testing, ending the second day ninth overall. More importantly, Xcel’s broader performance at the circuit offers encouragement after Campbell-Pilling finished second overall and the team gathered extensive mileage with the new car.
Rehm follows Fluxá in fourth on 237 points, leaving him only 23 behind Molnar. The German has repeatedly demonstrated front-running speed and came particularly close to victory at the Red Bull Ring, where Bedrin eventually passed him after a prolonged fight for the lead.
His Donington pre-season performance provides another reason for optimism. Rehm finished seventh on the first day before climbing to third on Thursday, only 0.169s away from Molnar’s benchmark.
With Molnar, Fluxá and Rehm separated by only 23 points, Round 6 could produce significant movement among Bedrin’s closest challengers even if the championship leader maintains his overall advantage.
Fairclough carries Silverstone double victory into Donington
Fairclough enters Donington as one of the championship’s form drivers after producing his strongest weekend of 2026 at Silverstone.
The Hitech driver secured his first two GB3 pole positions during Qualifying and converted both into victories. He resisted Molnar in an intense opening race before holding Campbell-Pilling at bay in Race 2, collecting a maximum 70 points across the two main contests.
Those results moved Fairclough to sixth in the championship on 180 points, only eight behind Patricio Gonzalez in fifth. His improvement also ended Bedrin’s run of winning the Omologato One to Watch Award at every previous event.
Fairclough did not take part in the March Donington test that Molnar topped, meaning the Hitech driver has less representative mileage at the venue in the current car than several of his principal rivals. However, his Silverstone performance demonstrated how significantly his competitiveness has increased since the opening rounds.
Hitech also arrives with momentum after Jacob Micallef won the reversed-grid Silverstone finale. The team therefore heads to Donington having won all three races at the previous event.
Campbell-Pilling targets another breakthrough at home event
Campbell-Pilling also heads to Donington after his strongest GB3 weekend of the year.
The Xcel Motorsport driver finished third in the opening Silverstone race before improving to second in Race 2. He stayed within DRS range of Fairclough throughout Sunday morning’s contest and eventually crossed the line only 0.969s behind. Campbell-Pilling then added seventh in the reversed-grid finale, helping him move to seventh in the championship with 171 points.
Donington carries additional significance for the Sheffield resident as his local circuit, while his pre-season pace provides further encouragement. Campbell-Pilling finished fourth on the opening day of March testing before topping the final session on day two and ending only 0.057s behind Molnar in the overall order.
His recent results suggest Xcel has increasingly converted its underlying pace into podium finishes. After Silverstone delivered two top-three results, Donington gives Campbell-Pilling an opportunity to challenge for the maiden GB3 victory that narrowly escaped him last time out.
Wilson looks to continue recent GB3 progress
Leon Wilson has also built considerable momentum across the past two rounds.
The Arden Motorsport driver claimed his maiden GB3 podium at the Red Bull Ring after climbing from fifth to third in the reversed-grid race. He followed that result with seventh, eighth and sixth at Silverstone, producing his highest points haul across a single GB3 weekend.
That turnaround followed more difficult visits to Spa-Francorchamps and the Hungaroring and has given Wilson renewed confidence heading into Donington.
He also finished sixth during the opening day of pre-season testing at the circuit and completed the second day inside the top 10, giving Arden substantial existing data to work with when the field returns on Thursday.
With the championship battle increasingly competitive through the midfield, maintaining the progress made at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone could allow Wilson to continue climbing during the final three events.
Pre-season running gives teams valuable Donington baseline
The two days of official testing in March gave most of the current grid its first opportunity to experience the upgraded Tatuus MSV GB3-025 around Donington Park.
Molnar immediately set the pace on day one, recording a 1m21.130s and finishing 0.389s clear of Hillspeed’s Dante Vinci. Jack Taylor placed third for Fortec Motorsports, followed by Campbell-Pilling, Pulling, Wilson and Rehm.
Times dropped further on the second day. Molnar’s 1m20.367s established the overall benchmark, while Campbell-Pilling moved within 0.057s. Rehm and Pulling completed a Rodin-heavy top four before Jackes and Taylor followed. Vinci, Peter Bouzinelos, Fluxá and Wilson completed the top 10.
The test also demonstrated the substantial performance increase delivered by the current GB3 car. Molnar’s fastest lap came almost two seconds below the previous outright series record at Donington.
However, almost six months have passed since that running. Teams have accumulated significant additional understanding of the car through five race meetings, meaning Thursday and Friday should provide a clearer indication of how the competitive order has evolved.
VRD and Rodin separated by 40 points in Teams’ Championship
The Teams’ Championship remains much closer than the Drivers’ battle.
VRD Racing leads on 581 points after Bedrin and the Gonzalez brothers combined for another strong Silverstone haul. Rodin Motorsport sits second on 541, leaving only 40 points between the leading teams heading into Round 6.
Xcel Motorsport occupies third with 446 points, only 10 ahead of Hitech. Fairclough’s Silverstone double and Micallef’s reversed-grid victory allowed Hitech to close considerably, meaning the fight for third could change hands during Donington.
Elite Motorsport follows in fifth on 334 points, while Hillspeed holds sixth with 197. Arden Motorsport sits seventh on 181, followed by Fortec Motorsports on 73 and Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing on 22.
With multiple drivers contributing to each team’s score, the close battles throughout the field should continue to carry significant consequences even if Bedrin maintains control of the Drivers’ Championship.
View the current GB3 Teams’ Championship standings
Testing and race schedule for 2026 GB3 Donington Park
The Donington weekend follows GB3’s regular four-day format, providing three testing sessions on both Thursday and Friday before Qualifying and racing begin.
Thursday 3 September – Live timing
- 09:45–10:15 – Session 1
- 14:20–14:50 – Session 2
- 16:30–17:00 – Session 3
Thursday gives competitors 90 minutes of track time across three 30-minute sessions. The running provides teams with their first opportunity to revisit the set-ups developed during March’s pre-season test while incorporating everything learned across the opening five rounds.
Friday 4 September – Live timing
- 10:55–11:25 – Session 1
- 14:15–14:45 – Session 2
- 17:10–17:40 – Session 3
Friday adds another 90 minutes of testing. With two separate Qualifying sessions following on Saturday morning, teams can divide their programme between long-run preparation and the final search for outright one-lap performance.
Saturday 5 September – Live timing and streaming
- 10:45 – Qualifying 1
- 11:05 – Qualifying 2
- 15:10 – Race 1
GB3 uses two dedicated Qualifying sessions to determine the grids for the opening races. Qualifying 1 establishes the Race 1 order, while Qualifying 2 sets the grid for Sunday morning’s Race 2.
Race 1 follows at 15:10, with live coverage scheduled to begin at approximately 14:50 BST.
Sunday 6 September – Live timing and streaming
- 10:10 – Race 2
- 16:20 – Race 3
Race 2 begins Sunday’s GB3 action before the reversed-grid Race 3 closes the weekend at 16:20. Both contests run for 25 minutes, with Race 3 again offering drivers further down the combined Qualifying order an opportunity to fight towards the front.
How to follow GB3 at Donington Park
GB3 will provide live timing throughout Thursday and Friday testing, both Saturday Qualifying sessions and all three races through its official website.
Each race will also receive live streaming coverage. The Race 1 programme begins at approximately 14:50 BST on Saturday, while Sunday’s broadcasts start at 09:50 for Race 2 and 16:00 for Race 3. Fans can also follow the action through the MSV TV YouTube channel.
Bedrin remains the driver everyone must chase after building a 103-point advantage across the opening five events, but Silverstone demonstrated that the competitive picture behind him continues to evolve. Molnar, Fluxá and Rehm remain his closest championship rivals, while Fairclough and Campbell-Pilling arrive after their strongest performances of the season.
Donington should also provide a useful measure of how far each team has developed since March. Molnar dominated the pre-season running, Campbell-Pilling finished only 0.057s behind and several drivers who now occupy the leading championship positions featured prominently throughout the two days.
With Brands Hatch and Barcelona still to follow, Round 6 cannot settle every championship question. However, another strong weekend for Bedrin could make the task facing his rivals considerably more difficult as the 2026 season enters its final six races after Donington.
All times are local British Summer Time.
