Ryba and Fluxá, who were in rostrum contention throughout the race, ultimately finished fourth at the wheel of the Ligier JS P325 - Toyota in the opening round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Rogeon and Raber were unable to reach the finish line
Brutal Fish by Campos Racing completed an overwhelmingly positive debut in endurance racing, which came at the opening round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Alzira-based outfit fielded two Ligier JS P325 - Toyota prototypes, entrusted to the pairings of Lucas Fluxá – Matúš Ryba and Arthur Rogeon – August Raber. From the outset, both LMP3 entries in Brutal Fish by Campos Racing colours established themselves as clear protagonists of the event. It was only the first chapter of many to come, but the team leaves Barcelona with valuable lessons learned in this new discipline.
On Friday, during free practice, both driver pairings already placed inside the top five. Rogeon and Raber posted a best time of 1m37.983s in their first outing on the Catalan circuit, while their teammates Fluxá and Ryba stopped the clock at 1m38.776s.
Saturday brought the decisive moments, starting with qualifying at midday followed by the 120-minute race in the afternoon. Rogeon and Ryba took on qualifying duties and both secured times that placed them at the sharp end of the field. Ultimately, they locked out the second row of the grid in Brutal Fish by Campos Racing colours. The Slovak driver Ryba set the third-fastest time with a 1m36.818s lap, while Rogeon was close behind, also breaking into the 1m36s bracket with a 1m36.955s effort that earned him fourth place.
The race, which got underway shortly after 6 p.m., began with track temperatures exceeding 30ºC, adding further uncertainty to strategy due to increased tyre degradation. Fluxá and Raber took charge of the opening stints. At the rolling start, the first chicane proved decisive in shaping the race outcome. Raber spun following slight contact, leaving the Swede stranded in the middle of the track and dropping him to the back of the field. Meanwhile, Fluxá consistently held third position, closely following the two leading Duqueine D09 cars. The opening hour of the race was marked by numerous incidents, prompting several safety car interventions.
It was only after around 45 minutes that uninterrupted running became possible. Fluxá remained the closest challenger to the leading Duqueine pair, with the three front-running cars pulling away from the rest of the field. As the race approached its halfway point, both Duqueine entries made their pit stops, while Fluxá extended his stint as much as possible, inheriting the race lead. By then, Raber had recovered multiple positions and was running seventh. The Swedish driver pitted on lap 27 to hand over to Rogeon, while Fluxá stopped two laps later, passing the car to Ryba.
Brutal Fish by Campos Racing’s strategy paid off, as Ryba rejoined the race in the lead, albeit with the two Duqueine cars right behind him. However, the Slovak driver was on cold tyres and was unable to defend his position. Nevertheless, Ryba remained firmly in podium contention until the very end, in a five-car battle all the way to the chequered flag. In a thrilling conclusion shaped by traffic management, Ryba crossed the line in fourth place, just five seconds shy of the podium. All in all, it was a strong start to the season for Ryba and Fluxá. Rogeon and Raber were less fortunate, as the Frenchman was forced to retire with a technical issue with 30 minutes remaining.
Following the opening round, Fluxá and Ryba also sit fourth in the overall standings with 12 points.
The next round will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet on May 2.
