2026 | GB3 | Hungaroring | Testing | Fairclough sets new lap record on opening day

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Deagen Fairclough set a new GB3 benchmark at the Hungaroring, topping the opening day of 2026 pre-event testing for Hitech. The British driver recorded a 1m36.244s lap during the first of Thursday’s three 30-minute sessions. His time proved approximately 1.2 seconds quicker than the pole position benchmark from the 2025 event.

Fairclough also led the second session and finished the day 0.418s clear of championship leader Nikita Bedrin. Home driver Martin Molnar completed the top three during his first day of running at the Hungarian Grand Prix venue.

Fairclough establishes early benchmark

Fairclough set the fastest time of the day during Thursday morning’s opening session.

While the remaining 18 drivers improved later, his 1m36.244s remained unbeaten throughout the afternoon. He became the only driver to record his personal best during Session 1.

Fairclough continued to demonstrate strong pace by leading the second session, although he could not improve on his earlier benchmark. The result provided an encouraging start for Hitech as Fairclough attempted to convert his recognised qualifying and race pace into a stronger championship return.

Bedrin leads closest challengers

Bedrin moved into second during Session 2 with a time 0.418s slower than Fairclough. The VRD Racing driver entered the weekend with the championship lead after winning three of the opening five races. Although he could not match Fairclough’s outright pace, he remained more than a tenth clear of the rest of the field.

Molnar then climbed to third during the final session. The Hungarian topped the afternoon running with a 1m36.778s lap, placing him 0.534s away from Fairclough.

Thursday marked Molnar’s first proper experience of the Hungaroring despite living close to the circuit. His immediate pace strengthened his prospects of challenging near the front during his home event.

Lee and Vinci complete top five

Kyuho Lee placed fourth for Elite Motorsport, finishing 0.720s behind the leader. The South Korean driver held an advantage of 0.059s over Hillspeed’s Dante Vinci, who completed one of his strongest pre-event testing days of the season in fifth.

Vinci led a competitive Hillspeed performance, with all three of the team’s drivers finishing inside the top eight. Peter Bouzinelos took seventh, while Aurelia Nobels finished eighth. Only 0.423s separated Vinci from Nobels in the combined order.

Micallef impresses on GB3 debut weekend

Jacob Micallef produced an encouraging first day ahead of his GB3 race debut. The Hitech newcomer finished sixth and joined Fairclough as one of two team drivers inside the top six. Micallef ended the day 0.971s behind his teammate and became the final driver to finish within one second of the benchmark.

The 16-year-old will become the first Maltese driver to contest a GB3 race when competitive action begins this weekend.

Behind him, Bouzinelos and Nobels occupied seventh and eighth, while Rodin Motorsport’s Abbi Pulling placed ninth. Pulling finished only 0.003s behind Nobels. Xcel Motorsport’s Lucas Fluxá followed another 0.006s back to complete the top 10. Elite Motorsport’s Flynn Jackes narrowly missed a place inside that group. He finished 11th, only 0.034s behind Fluxá.

Pre-event running continues on Friday with three further sessions at 08:30, 12:40 and 18:25 local time.