Nikita Bedrin continued his strong start to the 2026 GB3 Championship season with his third pole from four sessions, and demolishing the series' qualifying lap record in the process.
The Italian was comfortable out front, his time of a 2m11.911s was over four tenths faster than his nearest challenger, and almost two seconds faster than the previous GB3 qualifying benchmark at Spa. Bedrin was relaxed enough to return to the pits and get out of his car with four minutes to spare.
"It was a pretty good session,” he said. “I think we could have had both poles today but nevertheless, I think P3 and P1 is a really good place to start in Spa.”
Bedrin was 0.472s clear of the lead Rodin Motorsport car of Maxim Rehm in Q2, who was just 0.017s ahead of teammate Abbi Pulling in third. After qualifying third in session one, Bedrin was pleased with his improvement for the second session.
“I’m just really happy that we have the pace once again,” he said. “We've been on it since the first session here, and the team is doing a really, really good job.”
VRD Racing have continued to show a step forward in performance in 2026, beginning the weekend 23 points clear of Rodin at the top of the teams’ standings.
Last season, the American team finished eighth in the teams’ standings, picking up a total of two wins courtesy of Hugo Schwarze and Enzo Tarvanichkul. This year, they have matched that total after a single round, with Bedrin taking two victories at the season-opener in Silverstone.
“We are working together and we are showing really big progress from last year,” said Bedrin. “I'm really happy with how it's going and hopefully we can keep the momentum into the races."
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps provided exceptionally exciting racing last season, and is expected to do so again this weekend, due to the improved performance of the Tatuus MSV GB3-025 in 2026. With DRS and slipstream particularly effective, Bedrin is expecting a challenge to hold on to the lead.
“I think P1 is never ideal,” he admitted. "The strategy is to end up on top, of course, and it will be really tricky, considering the different setups everybody is running. I'll make sure I do my best part of it."
Race two is scheduled to get underway at 15.55 CEST tomorrow.