diff --git a/.drone.jsonnet b/.drone.jsonnet
index 03a31d08a..1d77c227f 100644
--- a/.drone.jsonnet
+++ b/.drone.jsonnet
@@ -248,8 +248,8 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
     if (pkg_format == "deb") then execInnerDocker('bash -c "apt-get clean && apt-get update -y && apt-get install -y mariadb-columnstore-cmapi"', containerName)
     else execInnerDocker('bash -c "yum update -y && yum install -y MariaDB-columnstore-cmapi"', containerName),
 
-  local prepareTestStage(containerName, result, do_setup) =
-    'sh -c "apk add bash && bash /mdb/' + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/prepare_test_stage.sh" +
+  local prepareTestContainer(containerName, result, do_setup) =
+    'sh -c "apk add bash && bash /mdb/' + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/prepare_test_container.sh" +
     " --container-name " + containerName +
     " --docker-image " + img +
     " --result-path " + result +
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
     image: "docker:28.2.2",
     volumes: [pipeline._volumes.mdb, pipeline._volumes.docker],
     commands: [
-      prepareTestStage(getContainerName("smoke"), result, true),
+      prepareTestContainer(getContainerName("smoke"), result, true),
       "bash /mdb/" + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/run_smoke.sh " + getContainerName("smoke"),
     ],
   },
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
     },
     commands: [
       // why do we mount cgroups here, but miss it on other steps?
-      prepareTestStage(getContainerName("upgrade") + version, result, false),
+      prepareTestContainer(getContainerName("upgrade") + version, result, false),
       if (pkg_format == "deb")
       then execInnerDocker('bash -c "./upgrade_setup_deb.sh ' + version + " " + result + " " + arch + " " + repo_pkg_url_no_res + ' $${UPGRADE_TOKEN}"',
                            getContainerName("upgrade") + version),
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
       MTR_FULL_SUITE: "${MTR_FULL_SUITE:-false}",
     },
     commands: [
-      prepareTestStage(getContainerName("mtr"), result, true),
+      prepareTestContainer(getContainerName("mtr"), result, true),
       'MTR_SUITE_LIST=$([ "$MTR_FULL_SUITE" == true ] && echo "' + mtr_full_set + '" || echo "$MTR_SUITE_LIST")',
 
       'apk add bash && bash /mdb/' + builddir + '/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/run_mtr.sh' +
@@ -363,31 +363,6 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
       status: ["success", "failure"],
     },
   },
-  prepare_regression:: {
-    name: "prepare regression",
-    depends_on: ["publish pkg", "publish cmapi build"],
-    when: {
-      status: ["success", "failure"],
-    },
-    image: "docker:git",
-    volumes: [pipeline._volumes.docker, pipeline._volumes.mdb],
-    environment: {
-      REGRESSION_BRANCH_REF: "${DRONE_SOURCE_BRANCH}",
-      REGRESSION_REF_AUX: branch_ref,
-    },
-    commands: [
-      // REGRESSION_REF can be empty if there is no appropriate branch in regression repository.
-      // if REGRESSION_REF is empty, try to see whether regression repository has a branch named as one we PR.
-      'export REGRESSION_REF=$${REGRESSION_REF:-$$(git ls-remote https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-columnstore-regression-test --h --sort origin "refs/heads/$$REGRESSION_BRANCH_REF" | grep -E -o "[^/]+$$")}',
-      "export REGRESSION_REF=$${REGRESSION_REF:-$$REGRESSION_REF_AUX}",
-      'echo "$$REGRESSION_REF"',
-      prepareTestStage(getContainerName("regression"), result, true),
-      "apk add bash && bash /mdb/" + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/prepare_regression.sh " +
-      "--container-name " + getContainerName("regression") +
-      " --regression-branch $$REGRESSION_REF" +
-      " --distro " + platform,
-    ],
-  },
   regression(name, depends_on):: {
     name: name,
     depends_on: depends_on,
@@ -401,11 +376,23 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
       REGRESSION_TIMEOUT: {
         from_secret: "regression_timeout",
       },
+      REGRESSION_BRANCH_REF: "${DRONE_SOURCE_BRANCH}",
+      REGRESSION_REF_AUX: branch_ref,
     },
     commands: [
-      "apk add bash && bash /mdb/" + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/run_regression.sh " +
-      "--container-name " + getContainerName("regression") +
+      prepareTestContainer(getContainerName("regression"), result, true),
+
+      // REGRESSION_REF can be empty if there is no appropriate branch in regression repository.
+      // if REGRESSION_REF is empty, try to see whether regression repository has a branch named as one we PR.
+      'export REGRESSION_REF=$${REGRESSION_REF:-$$(git ls-remote https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-columnstore-regression-test --h --sort origin "refs/heads/$$REGRESSION_BRANCH_REF" | grep -E -o "[^/]+$$")}',
+      "export REGRESSION_REF=$${REGRESSION_REF:-$$REGRESSION_REF_AUX}",
+      'echo "$$REGRESSION_REF"',
+
+      "apk add bash && bash /mdb/" + builddir + "/storage/columnstore/columnstore/build/run_regression.sh" +
+      " --container-name " + getContainerName("regression") +
       " --test-name " + name +
+      " --distro " + platform +
+      " --regression-branch $$REGRESSION_REF" +
       " --regression-timeout $${REGRESSION_TIMEOUT}",
     ],
   },
@@ -482,7 +469,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
       PYTHONPATH: "/usr/share/columnstore/cmapi/deps",
     },
     commands: [
-      prepareTestStage(getContainerName("cmapi"), result, true),
+      prepareTestContainer(getContainerName("cmapi"), result, true),
       installCmapi(getContainerName("cmapi"), pkg_format),
       "cd cmapi",
       "for i in mcs_node_control cmapi_server failover; do docker cp $${i}/test cmapi$${DRONE_BUILD_NUMBER}:" + cmapi_path + "/$${i}/; done",
@@ -695,8 +682,7 @@ local Pipeline(branch, platform, event, arch="amd64", server="10.6-enterprise",
          [pipeline.cmapilog] +
          [pipeline.publish("cmapilog")] +
          (if (platform == "rockylinux:8" && arch == "amd64") then [pipeline.dockerfile] + [pipeline.dockerhub] + [pipeline.multi_node_mtr] else [pipeline.mtr] + [pipeline.mtrlog] + [pipeline.publish("mtrlog")]) +
-         [pipeline.prepare_regression] +
-         [pipeline.regression(regression_tests[i], [if (i == 0) then "prepare regression" else regression_tests[i - 1]]) for i in indexes(regression_tests)] +
+         [pipeline.regression(regression_tests[i], if (i == 0) then ["mtr", "publish pkg", "publish cmapi build"] else [regression_tests[i - 1]]) for i in indexes(regression_tests)] +
          [pipeline.regressionlog] +
          [pipeline.publish("regressionlog")] +
          // [pipeline.upgrade(mdb_server_versions[i]) for i in indexes(mdb_server_versions)] +
diff --git a/build/prepare_regression.sh b/build/prepare_regression.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 1e08c0c5d..000000000
--- a/build/prepare_regression.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -eo pipefail
-
-SCRIPT_LOCATION=$(dirname "$0")
-source "$SCRIPT_LOCATION"/utils.sh
-
-optparse.define short=c long=container-name desc="Name of the Docker container where regression tests will run" variable=CONTAINER_NAME
-optparse.define short=b long=regression-branch desc="Branch from regression tests repo" variable=REGRESSION_BRANCH
-optparse.define short=d long=distro desc="Linux distro for which regression is executed" variable=DISTRO
-source $(optparse.build)
-
-for var in CONTAINER_NAME REGRESSION_BRANCH DISTRO; do
-  if [[ -z "${!var}" ]]; then
-    error "Missing required flag: -${var:0:1} / --${var,,}"
-    exit 1
-  fi
-done
-
-if [[ -z $(docker ps -q --filter "name=${CONTAINER_NAME}") ]]; then
-  error "Container '${CONTAINER_NAME}' is not running."
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-if [[ "$DISTRO" == *rocky* ]]; then
-    CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX="/etc/my.cnf.d/"
-else
-    CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX="/etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-"
-fi
-
-BUILD_DIR="verylongdirnameforverystrangecpackbehavior"
-
-git clone --recurse-submodules --branch "${REGRESSION_BRANCH}" --depth 1 https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-columnstore-regression-test
-
-cd mariadb-columnstore-regression-test
-git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD && git rev-parse HEAD
-cd ..
-
-docker cp mariadb-columnstore-regression-test "${CONTAINER_NAME}:/"
-
-echo "list storage manager binary:"
-ls -la "/mdb/${BUILD_DIR}/storage/columnstore/columnstore/storage-manager"
-
-docker cp "/mdb/${BUILD_DIR}/storage/columnstore/columnstore/storage-manager" "${CONTAINER_NAME}:/"
-
-#copy test data for regression test suite
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" 'bash -c "wget -qO- https://cspkg.s3.amazonaws.com/testData.tar.lz4 | lz4 -dc - | tar xf - -C mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/"'
-
-# set mariadb lower_case_table_names=1 config option
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "sed -i '/^\[mariadb\]/a lower_case_table_names=1' ${CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX}server.cnf"
-
-# set default client character set to utf-8
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "sed -i '/^\[client\]/a default-character-set=utf8' ${CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX}client.cnf"
-
-
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "systemctl start mariadb"
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "systemctl restart mariadb-columnstore"
-
-# Set RAM consumption limits to avoid RAM contention b/w mtr and regression steps.
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" '/usr/bin/mcsSetConfig SystemConfig CGroup just_no_group_use_local'
-
-# Compile queryTester inside container
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "g++ /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/queryTester.cpp -O2 -o /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/queryTester"
-
-echo "Prepare_regression stage has completed"
diff --git a/build/prepare_test_stage.sh b/build/prepare_test_container.sh
similarity index 96%
rename from build/prepare_test_stage.sh
rename to build/prepare_test_container.sh
index 11a6eeeec..924382bcf 100755
--- a/build/prepare_test_stage.sh
+++ b/build/prepare_test_container.sh
@@ -75,8 +75,7 @@ start_container() {
     fi
 }
 
-start_container
-
+prepare_container() {
 if [[ "$RESULT" != *rocky* ]]; then
     execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" 'sed -i "s/exit 101/exit 0/g" /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d'
 fi
@@ -123,3 +122,11 @@ fi
 
 sleep 5
 echo "PrepareTestStage completed in $CONTAINER_NAME"
+}
+
+
+if [[ -z $(docker ps -q --filter "name=${CONTAINER_NAME}") ]]; then
+    start_container
+    prepare_container
+else warn "Container ${CONTAINER_NAME} is already running!"
+fi
diff --git a/build/run_regression.sh b/build/run_regression.sh
index 73c2e240c..83b41fb02 100755
--- a/build/run_regression.sh
+++ b/build/run_regression.sh
@@ -1,37 +1,91 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-set -eo pipefail
+set -o pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_LOCATION=$(dirname "$0")
 source "$SCRIPT_LOCATION"/utils.sh
 
-optparse.define short=c long=container-name desc="Name of the Docker container where regression tests will be executed" variable=CONTAINER_NAME
-optparse.define short=t long=regression-timeout desc="Name of the Docker container where regression tests will be executed" variable=REGRESSION_TIMEOUT
-optparse.define short=n long=test-name desc="Test name" variable=TEST_NAME
-source $(optparse.build)
+optparse.define short=c long=container-name     desc="Name of the Docker container where regression tests will run" variable=CONTAINER_NAME
+optparse.define short=b long=regression-branch  desc="Branch from regression tests repo"                            variable=REGRESSION_BRANCH
+optparse.define short=d long=distro             desc="Linux distro for which regression is executed"                variable=DISTRO
+optparse.define short=t long=regression-timeout desc="Timeout for the regression test run"                          variable=REGRESSION_TIMEOUT
+optparse.define short=n long=test-name          desc="Name of regression test to execute"                           variable=TEST_NAME
+source "$(optparse.build)"
 
-echo "Arguments received: $@"
-
-if [[ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]]; then
-    error "Please run script as root"
+for flag in CONTAINER_NAME REGRESSION_BRANCH DISTRO; do
+  if [[ -z "${!flag}" ]]; then
+    error "Missing required flag: -${flag:0:1} / --${flag,,}"
     exit 1
-fi
-
-if [[ -z "${CONTAINER_NAME}" ]]; then
-    echo "Please provide mtr container name as a parameter, e.g. ./run_mtr.sh -c mtr183"
-    exit 1
-fi
+  fi
+done
 
 if [[ -z $(docker ps -q --filter "name=${CONTAINER_NAME}") ]]; then
-    error "Container '${CONTAINER_NAME}' is not running."
-    exit 1
+  error "Container '${CONTAINER_NAME}' is not running."
+  exit 1
 fi
 
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "cd /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/nightly/alltest && mkdir -p reg-logs"
+BUILD_DIR="verylongdirnameforverystrangecpackbehavior"
 
-execInnerDocker "$CONTAINER_NAME" "bash -c 'sleep 4800 && bash /save_stack.sh /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/nightly/alltest/reg-logs/' &"
+prepare_regression() {
+  if execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "test -f /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/queryTester.cpp"; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  message "Running one-time preparation for regression tests"
+
+  # Set config path prefix based on distro
+  if [[ "$DISTRO" == *rocky* ]]; then
+    CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX="/etc/my.cnf.d/"
+  else
+    CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX="/etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-"
+  fi
+
+  git clone --recurse-submodules --branch "${REGRESSION_BRANCH}" --depth 1 https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-columnstore-regression-test
+  cd mariadb-columnstore-regression-test
+  git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD && git rev-parse HEAD
+  cd ..
+
+  docker cp mariadb-columnstore-regression-test "${CONTAINER_NAME}:/"
+  docker cp "/mdb/${BUILD_DIR}/storage/columnstore/columnstore/storage-manager" "${CONTAINER_NAME}:/"
+
+  #copy test data for regression test suite
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" 'bash -c "wget -qO- https://cspkg.s3.amazonaws.com/testData.tar.lz4 | lz4 -dc - | tar xf - -C mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/"'
+
+  # set mariadb lower_case_table_names=1 config option
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "sed -i '/^\[mariadb\]/a lower_case_table_names=1' ${CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX}server.cnf"
+
+  # set default client character set to utf-8
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "sed -i '/^\[client\]/a default-character-set=utf8' ${CONFIG_PATH_PREFIX}client.cnf"
+
+  # Start services and build queryTester
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "systemctl start mariadb"
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "systemctl restart mariadb-columnstore"
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "g++ /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/queryTester.cpp -O2 -o /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/queryTester"
+
+  message "Regression preparation complete"
+}
+
+run_test() {
+  message "Running test: ${TEST_NAME:-<none>}"
+
+  execInnerDocker "${CONTAINER_NAME}" "bash -c 'sleep 4800 && bash /save_stack.sh /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/nightly/alltest/reg-logs/' &"
+
+  execInnerDockerNoTTY "${CONTAINER_NAME}" \
+    "export PRESERVE_LOGS=true && cd /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/nightly/alltest && \
+     timeout -k 1m -s SIGKILL --preserve-status ${REGRESSION_TIMEOUT} ./go.sh --sm_unit_test_dir=/storage-manager --tests=${TEST_NAME} \
+       || ./regression_logs.sh ${TEST_NAME}"
+}
+
+on_exit() {
+  exit_code=$?
+  if [[ $exit_code -eq 0 ]]; then
+    message "Regression finished successfully"
+  else
+    message "Some of regression tests has failed"
+  fi
+}
+trap on_exit EXIT
+
+prepare_regression
+run_test
 
-execInnerDockerNoTTY "$CONTAINER_NAME" \
-  "export PRESERVE_LOGS=true && cd /mariadb-columnstore-regression-test/mysql/queries/nightly/alltest && \
-   bash -c \"timeout -k 1m -s SIGKILL --preserve-status ${REGRESSION_TIMEOUT} ./go.sh --sm_unit_test_dir=/storage-manager --tests=${TEST_NAME} \
-     || ./regression_logs.sh ${TEST_NAME}\""
diff --git a/build/utils.sh b/build/utils.sh
index 771b575d2..d2551655a 100644
--- a/build/utils.sh
+++ b/build/utils.sh
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ function execInnerDocker() {
 
   if [[ $dockerCommandExitCode -ne 0 ]]; then
     error "Command \"$@\" failed in container \"$container_name\""
-    exit $dockerCommandExitCode
+    return $dockerCommandExitCode
   fi
 }
 
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ function execInnerDockerNoTTY() {
 
   if [[ $dockerCommandExitCode -ne 0 ]]; then
     error "Command \"$@\" failed in container \"$container_name\""
-    exit $dockerCommandExitCode
+    return $dockerCommandExitCode
   fi
 }