Bedrin fights back for superb victory in Silverstone opener
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 were 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 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 more happy.
"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."
VRD Racing’s Nikita Bedrin underlined his credentials as a pre-season title favourite by claiming his second victory of the Silverstone season opening weekend in race two this morning.
Jin Nakamura then triumphed in one of the most exciting conclusions to a GB3 race in recent times, coming out on top of a last lap three-way battle to claim victory on his own debut weekend.
With two wins, Bedrin holds a nine point gap at the top of the standings heading to the next event at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of May.
Race two
After a slow start from pole in race one, Bedrin was again passed at the start of race two, this time by Deagen Fairclough. But the VRD contender fought back immediately at Becketts to reclaim the lead.
He had to contend with two safety car restarts, but held his nerve on both occasions, including a last lap shootout. With Fairclough dropping out of contention, Bedrin finished 0.777s ahead of Rodin’s Maxim Rehm, with Nakamura securing third for Hitech.
Lucas Fluxa had finished on the podium but was penalised for crowding and dropped to fourth on the revised result, with Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Xcel) and Kyuho Lee (Elite) completing the top-six.
Race three
Elite’s Flynn Jackes started on pole for the top-12 reverse grid race, based on the combined qualifying result. The Filipino driver led every lap too, but had his lead wiped out by a mid race safety car, prior to which Nakamura had fought up to second and was trimming the gap.
A restart with five minutes to go handed Nakamura the initiative, but it took until the final lap for him to seriously threaten. After going wheel to wheel through the Village and The Loop corners, Nakamura gained a tow down the Wellington Straight, but the top-two had delayed themselves in the fight.
That allowing Jackes’ teammate Lee into the fight down to Brooklands, with Lee choosing the inside line, Jackes the middle and Nakamura the outside. The outside was the place to be as Nakamura swooped into the lead, with Lee demoting Jackes further.
The win went to Nakamura, though Lee was later dropped down the order after a post-race penalty, promoting Jackes to second, his first GB3 podium, and Fluxa to third.
Mexican brothers Rodrigo and Patricio Gonzalez claimed fourth and fifth ahead of Rehm who completed the top-six.
Championship leader Nikita Bedrin: “A really great weekend, two pole positions, two race wins and a pretty good comeback in the last race. It’s a really positive way to start the year, we have a good margin but it’s important to keep up this momentum. The team has done a mega job with the car this week and we’re leading both championships, so we can be really happy with that.”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, race two top-six result:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 11 laps
2. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +0.777s
3. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, +4.697s
4. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, penalty
5. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, +4.992s
6. Kyuho Lee, Elite Motorsport, +5.088s
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone, race three top-six result:
1. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, 12 laps
2. Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +0.682s
3. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, +0.794s
4. Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +1.929s
5. Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +2.468s
6. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, +3.727s
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, driver standings after race three of 24:
1. Nikita Bedrin, VRD Racing, 76pts
2. Maxim Rehm, Rodin Motorsport, 67pts
3. Jin Nakamura, Hitech, 60pts
4. Lucas Fluxa, Xcel Motorsport, 47pts
5. Rowan Campbell-Pilling, Xcel Motorsport, 47pts
6. Patricio Gonalez, VRD Racing, 40pts
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, team standings after race three of 24:
1. VRD Racing, 128pts
2. Rodin Motorsport, 105pts
3. Xcel Motorsport, 94pts
4. Hitech, 92pts
5. Elite Motorsport, 67pts
6. Fortec Motorsports, 51pts
Image credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
