Brutal Fish by Campos Racing Ends the Season with a Double Podium at Portimão
The 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup season came to a close at the Algarve International Circuit, where Brutal Fish by Campos Racing capped off an outstanding debut in endurance racing. The two Ligier JS P325-Toyota prototypes driven by August Raber – Arthur Rogeon and Lucas Fluxá – Matúš Ryba crossed the finish line in second and third place respectively, bringing the Alzira-based team's first campaign in the championship to a magnificent conclusion. The result also confirmed the Franco-Swedish pairing as championship runners-up, with their Spanish-Slovak teammates finishing third in the overall standings.
During the first free practice session, the drivers of car #12 posted a best lap of 1m40.566s, while their teammates recorded a 1m40.702s. Lap times increased across the field in the second session as track temperatures rose. Under these conditions, Fluxá – Ryba were the faster of the two Brutal Fish by Campos Racing line-ups, recording a best time of 1m41.110s compared with 1m41.632s for Raber – Rogeon.
The two pairings completed a total of 108 laps during practice as they prepared for Friday's qualifying session, held around midday. Fluxá and Raber were selected to drive the team's two LMP3 prototypes in qualifying. When the session ended, Fluxá was sixth on the timesheets with a lap of 1m39.773s. Raber, who faced greater difficulties finding clear track and combining his best sector times into a single lap, qualified twelfth with a 1m40.084s.
However, with a two-hour race scheduled for Saturday, grid position was not necessarily decisive. The day dawned sunny, with temperatures continuing to rise, providing another opportunity for the Brutal Fish by Campos Racing drivers to fight for a podium finish. Ryba and Raber were entrusted with the race starts. The opening phase proved difficult for several competitors, with two prototypes spinning at the first corner, but both team drivers negotiated the incident-free opening they needed. Ryba made an excellent start to climb to third by the end of the opening lap, while Raber made an outstanding getaway to move into fourth, running close behind his teammate in the early stages. The race was interrupted by five Full Course Yellow (FCY) periods. The first came just three minutes after the start to allow marshals to remove carbon-fibre debris from the track.
Once racing resumed, it quickly became clear that Daniel Frost, Giovanni Maschio, Ryba and Raber had a stronger pace than their rivals. Following a second, brief FCY period, the quartet began to pull away at the front. After fifteen laps, the leading group remained separated by barely ten seconds, while the fifth-placed car was already more than ten seconds behind Raber. However, after 35 minutes of racing, an LMP3 prototype went off into the gravel and became stranded, prompting Race Control to deploy the safety car and erase the gaps. The race resumed four laps later, with the same four drivers continuing to set the pace at the front. As the halfway point approached, Ryba and Raber were running third and fourth respectively, less than five seconds behind the leader, while their nearest pursuer was already more than twelve seconds further back.
Just as the pit window was about to open, another FCY period triggered a round of pit stops. Ryba and Raber pitted on lap 28, along with Frost, handing over their respective cars to Fluxá and Rogeon. Both returned to the track behind Enzo Peugeot and immediately faced a demanding challenge from Colin Queen, who had stopped earlier and therefore had his tyres at an optimal operating temperature. Although Queen managed to pass both Brutal Fish by Campos Racing drivers, there was still a long way to go.
Queen subsequently retired with a technical issue, leaving the victory to be contested by the two team cars and Peugeot's prototype. The second and final safety car period was deployed on lap 32, bunching up the field once again. From that point until the chequered flag, with two further FCY periods caused by debris on the track, the gaps remained extremely tight. Rogeon led the pursuit of Peugeot, with Fluxá close behind.
After two hours of racing and a total of 60 laps, Rogeon crossed the finish line in second place, just seven seconds behind the winner. Fluxá completed the podium in third, fifteen seconds off the lead, securing an excellent result for Brutal Fish by Campos Racing in the season finale. As a result, August Raber and Arthur Rogeon finish the Michelin Le Mans Cup season as championship runners-up, with 85 points. Lucas Fluxá and Matúš Ryba conclude the campaign third in the overall standings, with 77 points, completing a particularly successful debut season for the team.
Brutal Fish by Campos Racing's first Michelin Le Mans Cup campaign has come to an end, but preparations for next season begin straight away. The goal is clear: to take another step forward and fight for even better results.
Photos: FotoSpeedy
