2026 | GB3 | Red Bull Ring | Testing | Bedrin leads VRD one-two on Friday

VRD Racing’s Nikita Bedrin ended Friday fastest as 2026 GB3 Championship pre-event testing concluded at the Red Bull Ring.

The championship leader set a 1m24.525s during the first of the day’s three sessions before also leading Session 2. His morning benchmark placed him 0.245s ahead of VRD testing newcomer Oliver Wheldon in the combined order, while Rodin Motorsport’s Maxim Rehm completed the top three.

Abbi Pulling denied Bedrin a clean sweep by leading the final session for Rodin Motorsport. However, the drivers set all 10 of the day’s quickest combined times during Session 1, which offered the fastest conditions of Friday’s running.

Bedrin establishes the Friday benchmark in Session 1

Bedrin immediately placed VRD Racing at the head of the order with a 1m24.525s, finishing just 0.124s shy of the pace Deagen Fairclough set during Thursday’s running. The championship leader completed his quickest lap on his 12th tour and ended the opening session with a 0.245s advantage.

Wheldon continued his impressive first GB3 test by taking second in the other VRD car. The 15-year-old American recorded a 1m24.770s, while Rehm followed another 0.088s behind in third for Rodin Motorsport.

Dante Vinci claimed fourth for Hillspeed, only 0.048s behind Rehm, while Pulling completed the top five. Fairclough placed sixth ahead of Lucas Fluxá and Martin Molnár, who finished only 0.004s apart.

Flynn Jackes and Kyuho Lee put both Elite Motorsport cars inside the top 10. Meanwhile, only 0.826s separated Bedrin from Ricardo Baptista in 16th as the field produced a tightly matched opening session.

2026 GB3 Red Bull Ring Friday Testing Session 1 results

1. #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: 1m24.525s
2. #98 Oliver Wheldon — VRD Racing: +0.245s
3. #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.333s
4. #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.381s
5. #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: +0.397s
6. #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.452s
7. #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.497s
8. #2 Martin Molnár — Rodin Motorsport: +0.501s
9. #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +0.629s
10. #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +0.673s
11. #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +0.772s
12. #21 Patricio González — VRD Racing: +0.812s
13. #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.812s
14. #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +0.813s
15. #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.816s
16. #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +0.826s
17. #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +1.043s
18. #22 Rodrigo González — VRD Racing: +1.060s
19. #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +1.092s
20. #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.476s

Bedrin retains the lead as Molnár closes in

Bedrin remained fastest during the second session, although the slower conditions prevented him from challenging his earlier benchmark. He posted a 1m25.047s and beat Molnár by only 0.070s.

Wheldon followed just 0.017s behind Molnár in third, giving VRD two cars inside the first three positions for the second consecutive session. Rehm placed fourth for Rodin, while Vinci again led Hillspeed’s challenge in fifth.

Pulling took sixth ahead of Fairclough, while Jackes, Fluxá and Campbell-Pilling completed the top 10. Only 0.625s covered the leading 10 drivers, although Peter Bouzinelos endured a more difficult session and finished 20th after completing his quickest lap early in the running.

2026 GB3 Red Bull Ring Friday Testing Session 2 results

1. #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: 1m25.047s
2. #2 Martin Molnár — Rodin Motorsport: +0.070s
3. #98 Oliver Wheldon — VRD Racing: +0.087s
4. #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.340s
5. #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.459s
6. #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: +0.495s
7. #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.533s
8. #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +0.538s
9. #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.554s
10. #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.625s
11. #21 Patricio González — VRD Racing: +0.648s
12. #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +0.790s
13. #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.905s
14. #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +0.992s
15. #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +1.020s
16. #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +1.030s
17. #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +1.153s
18. #22 Rodrigo González — VRD Racing: +1.285s
19. #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.489s
20. #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +1.709s

Pulling denies Bedrin a clean sweep in Session 3

Pulling moved to the front during the third and final session with a 1m24.946s. The Rodin Motorsport driver completed her fastest lap on her 15th tour and finished 0.073s ahead of Bedrin.

Vinci maintained his consistent Friday form by taking third, only 0.051s behind Bedrin. Rehm followed in fourth, while Fairclough improved to fifth after placing seventh during the previous session.

Molnár secured sixth ahead of Patricio González and Fluxá. Aurelia Nobels produced her strongest result of the day in ninth, while Campbell-Pilling completed the leading 10.

Wheldon finished 12th after completing only 10 laps, the same total as Bedrin. Nevertheless, Wheldon’s Session 1 performance ensured he retained second in the combined Friday order.

2026 GB3 Red Bull Ring Friday Testing Session 3 results

1. #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: 1m24.946s
2. #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: +0.073s
3. #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.124s
4. #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.157s
5. #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.253s
6. #2 Martin Molnár — Rodin Motorsport: +0.282s
7. #21 Patricio González — VRD Racing: +0.305s
8. #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.334s
9. #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +0.414s
10. #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.473s
11. #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +0.570s
12. #98 Oliver Wheldon — VRD Racing: +0.576s
13. #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.587s
14. #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +0.707s
15. #22 Rodrigo González — VRD Racing: +0.777s
16. #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +0.807s
17. #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +0.816s
18. #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +1.180s
19. #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +1.265s
20. #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.322s

Bedrin leads Wheldon in the combined order

Bedrin’s opening-session lap secured the fastest time of Friday, while Wheldon completed a VRD Racing one-two after another strong performance in unfamiliar GB3 machinery. Rehm led Rodin Motorsport’s challenge in third ahead of Vinci and Pulling.

Fairclough finished sixth after leading Thursday’s combined order. Fluxá followed 0.045s behind in seventh, with Molnár only 0.004s further back. Jackes and Lee completed the top 10, which Bedrin covered by 0.673s.

Patricio González used his Session 3 lap to rise to 11th in the combined classification. Meanwhile, the opening-session efforts of Micallef, Wilson, Bouzinelos, Campbell-Pilling and Baptista placed them from 12th to 16th.

Only 0.835s separated Bedrin from Nobels in 17th, while the top 19 finished within 1.092s. The GB3 field will return for the two-part Qualifying session at 10:20 local time on Saturday before Race 1 begins at 14:25.

The following combined classification uses each driver’s quickest lap across Friday’s three sessions.

2026 GB3 Red Bull Ring Friday combined testing results

1. #20 Nikita Bedrin — VRD Racing: 1m24.525s
2. #98 Oliver Wheldon — VRD Racing: +0.245s
3. #1 Maxim Rehm — Rodin Motorsport: +0.333s
4. #10 Dante Vinci — Hillspeed: +0.381s
5. #3 Abbi Pulling — Rodin Motorsport: +0.397s
6. #6 Deagen Fairclough — Hitech: +0.452s
7. #7 Lucas Fluxá — Xcel Motorsport: +0.497s
8. #2 Martin Molnár — Rodin Motorsport: +0.501s
9. #18 Flynn Jackes — Elite Motorsport: +0.629s
10. #19 Kyuho Lee — Elite Motorsport: +0.673s
11. #21 Patricio González — VRD Racing: +0.726s
12. #4 Jacob Micallef — Hitech: +0.772s
13. #27 Leon Wilson — Arden Motorsport: +0.812s
14. #11 Peter Bouzinelos — Hillspeed: +0.813s
15. #8 Rowan Campbell-Pilling — Xcel Motorsport: +0.816s
16. #9 Ricardo Baptista — Xcel Motorsport: +0.826s
17. #12 Aurelia Nobels — Hillspeed: +0.835s
18. #22 Rodrigo González — VRD Racing: +1.060s
19. #26 Lewis Gilbert — Arden Motorsport: +1.092s
20. #5 Yuhao Fu — Hitech: +1.476s