VRD Racing's Nikita Bedrin made an ideal start to life in GB3, taking a commanding double pole in the two-part qualifying session this morning, and a fightback victory in race one.

Bedrin recovered well from a slow start, battling through the front-runners to retake the lead on lap six and going unchallenged after a safety car intervention led to a two-lap sprint to the finish.
 

Qualifying
Bedrin smashed the Silverstone qualifying lap record to storm his way to double pole for the season opener. He registered a 1m50.123s in session one (for the race one grid) to be 0.035s clear of Martin Molnar (Rodin Motorsport), and then a 1m49.402s in session two – 0.232s of Deagen Fairclough (Hitech).

Rodin Motorsport impressed with all three of their cars inside the top four in session one, with Molnar leading Maxim Rehm in third and Abbi Pulling fourth. Fairclough was fifth, with the top five separated by 0.350s.

Rodin was strong again in session two, but this time missed out on the front row due to the efforts of Fairclough. Rehm secured third, just 0.003s clear of Molnar, who in turn was only 0.001s ahead of Pulling.

Race
As the lights went out for the first time in 2026, Bedrin dropped to fourth during an explosive first lap, but he quickly fought back past Fairclough and Rehm by the end of lap three.

As Bedrin battled his way back through the order, Molnar had marched away at the front and had built a lead of over two seconds. He then quickly bridged the gap to the runaway leader, at times lapping up to a second quicker, and was right with him by the start of lap six.

He gained a tow going down the Hangar Straight, with DRS enabling him to get ultra close at Stowe. Exiting the quick right-hander, Bedrin went one way and then the next on the run to Vale, swooping down the inside to take the lead. 

With Molnar stunned, Bedrin quickly built an advantage, but a safety car intervention on lap nine neutralised the race before a two-lap sprint to the finish. Bedrin was able to rebuild a gap and went unchallenged to claim victory by 2.550s from Molnar, with Rehm completing the podium ahead of Fairclough and Xcel Motorsport’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling.

Two more GB3 races follow on Sunday, with both live-streamed on the GB3 Championship website.

Race one winner Nikita Bedrin: "[It was a] really good race, but a pretty bad start! But I recovered pretty well from that, I think, and we had a really good pace, I'm really happy with that. The car felt amazing, and the team has done a really good job, so I couldn't be happier.

"I did a switch back [for the lead], I knew it was going to work, I'd tried it earlier in the race, but went a little too deep. I made sure I learned from the mistake, and it was a good move. 

"I did a good restart, but then I had to lift a little bit to make sure I didn't catch the safety car, so that's why it was not so good on the main straight, but I think apart from that it was quite good and I pulled away."

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, qualifying one top-six result:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 1m50.123s
2. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, +0.035s
3. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +0.215s
4. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +0.238s
5. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +0.350s
6. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, +0.416s

Click here for full results

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, qualifying two top-six result:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 1m49.402s
2. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, +0.232s
3. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +0.270s
4. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, +0.273s
5. Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +0.274s
6. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +0.410s

Click here for full results
 

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, driver standings after race one of 24:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 35pts
2. Martin Molnar, Rodin Motorsport, 29pts
3. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, 24pts
4. Deagen Fairclough, Hitech, 21pts
5. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, 19pts
6. Patricio Gonalez, VRD Racing, 17pts

Click here for full standings

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, team standings after race one of 24:
1. Rodin Motorsport, 53pts
2. VRD Racing, 52pts
3. Hitech, 34pts
4. Xcel Motorsport, 28pts
5. Fortec Motorsports, 20pts
6. Elite Motorsport, 17pts

Click here for full standings

For more championship information, visit www.gb-3.net.