The 2026 GB3 Championship returns for its second round in as many weekends with a maiden visit to the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Alps. The 2.688 mile circuit currently hosts Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix and will be the fifth European circuit to have featured on the championship’s calendar.
This weekend will mark the halfway point of the season, one which has largely been the story of VRD Racing’s Nikita Bedrin. The Russian driver heads to Austria with a 68-point lead in the standings after two podiums at the Hungaroring last time out, the latter being a win from pole position with the fastest lap.
There are no changes to the grid this weekend, as all 19 drivers who competed in Hungary have travelled to Austria. There is, however, one addition solely for testing.
Oliver Wheldon, son of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, tested in a fourth VRD Racing entry. The 15-year-old currently competes in the USF2000 Championship for the team, where he is 10th in the standings with three podiums. He also notably secured pole position for all three races of his debut round at Indianapolis.
In yesterday’s three test sessions, Wheldon finished third, eighth and fifth. Deagen Fairclough topped the first two sessions and Bedrin went fastest in the final session.
Like in Hungary, Fairclough was fastest on combined times with a 1:24.401. He was followed by Maxim Rehm and Bedrin.
Where everyone stands
Behind the championship leader, Rehm is 10 points ahead of Lucas Fluxá. In the teams’ championship, Rodin Motorsport is on 339 points, five ahead of VRD Racing.
- Nikita Bedrin (VRD), 222
- Maxim Rehm (Rodin), 154
- Lucas Fluxá (Xcel), 144
- Martin Molnár (Rodin), 141
- Jin Nakamura (Hitech), 96
- Flynn Jackes (Elite), 88
- Patricio Gonzalez (VRD), 87
- Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Xcel), 85
- Abbi Pulling (Rodin), 84
- Deagen Fairclough (Hitech), 77
- Kyuho Lee (Elite), 77
- Rodrigo Gonzalez (VRD), 71
- Fu Yuhao (Hitech), 64
- Dante Vinci (Hillspeed), 55
- Ricardo Baptista (Xcel), 53
- Rodin Motorsport, 339
- VRD Racing, 334
- Hitech, 248
- Xcel Motorsport, 240
- Elite Motorsport, 192
- Hillspeed, 118
- Arden Motorsport, 104
- Fortec Motorsports, 61
- Nitrous Competitions ADM Racing, 10
The weekend’s schedule
The two qualifying sessions will start at 10:20 local time, with race one at 14:25. On Sunday, race two will start at 09:55 and race three will start at 14:15.
All sessions will have live timing on the GB3 website and getraceresults.com. All three races can be seen live on the MSV TV YouTube channel.
Main Image Credit: Michael Jurtin / Red Bull Ring
