Driving for MP Motorsport, American driver Wheldon was quickest among the Group A contenders to set the overall best time of 1m34.353s on the 4.574-kilometre layout. However, with R-ace GP’s Olivieri setting the pace in Group B, the top two in the provisional FIA FREC standings will share the front row of the grid for Race 1, which is due to get under way 13:05 local time live on YouTube.

RPM’s Jan Przyrowski, the fastest driver during Friday practice, was third quickest ahead of Prema Racing driver Tomass Štolcermanis with Maksimilian Popov (Trident Motorsport) joining title contender Kean Nakamura-Berta on row three. Rashid Al Dhaheri, who remains in championship contention for R-ace GP, was fourth in Group A and will start Race 1 from seventh place with Zhenrui Chi alongside for MP Motorsport.

“I wasn’t expecting to take pole position, especially as the second group is usually quicker,” said Wheldon. “But I managed to put together a lap that was fast enough for overall pole, so I’m pleased. We’ll see what we can do in the championship, starting from the front. The aim is to keep it clean into Turn 1. The hairpin at Turn 6 can also get a bit hectic, particularly on the opening lap, so I’ll try to stay out of trouble and score as many points as possible.”

Olivieri added: “It has been another strong weekend so far and we have once again shown that we have good pace. We missed out on pole position this morning by a very small margin, but I’m still pleased with the result. We’re starting from the front row, so we’re in a good position for the race. We’ll see what happens. The goal is to finish ahead of Sebastian, as that would obviously be very important. However, I’ll focus on my own race and, if I have the pace, I’ll try to overtake him.”

FIA FREC explained
Taking over from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) for 2026, FIA FREC enjoys the full support of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide.

Positioned one step above Formula 4 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid, FIA FREC, which is organised by FIA Member Club Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI), caters exclusively for the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326. All-new for 2026, the Pirelli-equipped car has been developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA and follows the aerodynamic philosophy deployed in Formula 1 to encourage closer racing. Its design also represents another step in terms of performance and safety.

The second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 features the new Race Mode push to pass system, which allows drivers to trigger full engine performance for a period of time when activated by a button pressed from inside the cockpit. The amount of time depends on how many times the button is pressed but each driver has a total of 100 seconds available per race. Race Mode’s introduction for the 2026 FIA FREC season is the result of extensive research and development managed by the FIA.

Click HERE for the provisional results.