Nakamura-Berta Claims Third Victory of 2026 FREC Season
- therookiereporters
- Jul 19
- 2 min read
Kean Nakamura-Berta converted his fifth pole of 2026 into his third win of the season, taking the lead of the championship once more at Paul Ricard.
Kean Nakamura-Berta secures his fifth pole position of the season at Paul Ricard but can he convert that pole into a win? He lines up alongside MP Motorsport’s Sebastian Wheldon. On the formation lap G4 Racing’s Almaosherji found himself on the side of the race track. With an extra formation lap due to Almaosherji being unable to start the race, the length for Race 1 got changed to 28 minutes + 1 lap.
The lights went green, and off the line it was Wheldon who had an exceptional start taking the lead from Nakamura-Berta. Three wide went Wheldon, Nakamura-Berta and Abkhazava but it was Wheldon who managed to hold onto the lead. Salim Hanna got spun and fell down the order. Wheldon went wide on track and it was Kean Nakamura-Berta who got the lead back as he started to build the gap up to Wheldon.
Matteo Giaccardi suffered a mechanical failure meaning he was a DNF for the race. Abkhazava swapped positions with Wheldon to fight for first with Nakamura-Berta. In the pits was Francisco Macedo with issues to the car but he managed to continue the race. R-ace GP’s Emanuele Olivieri made a great move on Sebastian Wheldon for the final podium spot. Stewards had noted the incident between Olivieri and Abkhazava at Turn 9. Olivieri managed to make a move on Abkhazava and Gomez successfully made a move on Wheldon.
Across the line came Kean Nakamura-Berta to claim victory for a third time this season and the championship lead at Paul Ricard. In second came Emanuele Olivieri and it was Alexander Abkhazava that took the final podium place.
Article written by Ria Wiktor ©️ Ria Wiktor 2026
