Brutal Fish by Campos scores double top-five in Silverstone’s rain lottery
Endurance racing is often described as the discipline in which strategy plays the most important role and, judging by what unfolded at Silverstone Circuit this past weekend, there is certainly plenty of truth to that statement. The British venue, which hosted the fifth and penultimate round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup season, provided one of the toughest challenges of the campaign. Once again, however, Brutal Fish by Campos and the Ligier JS P325-Toyota LMP3s shared by August Raber – Arthur Rogeon and Lucas Fluxá – Matúš Ryba delivered a strong performance in Britain, one that lived up to the circuit’s reputation for unpredictable autumn weather.
Rogeon had already shown his excellent form on Friday, when the Frenchman topped the opening of the two Free Practice sessions with a 1m54.659s lap. Following a second session in which the drivers and engineers continued working to adapt the LMP3 cars to Silverstone’s particular characteristics, qualifying took place shortly after midday on Saturday, with Rogeon taking responsibility for the #12 Ligier and Fluxá doing likewise in the #19.
From the moment the countdown began, both Rogeon and Fluxá were among the leading contenders for pole position. In the closing stages, Rogeon completed a 1m54.166s lap to secure second place on the timesheets, just ahead of Fluxá, who posted the third-fastest time with a 1m54.207s lap.
Ahead of the race, the stewards handed the #12 Ligier a three-place grid penalty following an incident with another competitor, dropping it to fifth and allowing its team-mates to inherit a front-row starting position. With 120 minutes of racing still ahead, however, this was little more than a minor setback. Ryba and Rogeon were the drivers selected to take the start and complete the opening stint. Pole-sitter Danial Frost immediately set the pace when the race got underway, with Ryba the only driver able to stay with him. Raber soon joined the pursuit and, after overtaking two rivals, moved up to third behind his team-mate Ryba. After ten laps, the two Brutal Fish by Campos drivers were just two and three seconds behind Frost.
The Safety Car made its first appearance after half an hour of racing when a GT3 car came to a halt on track. After eight minutes, the race resumed and, although the gaps to the chasing pack had been wiped out, the same leading drivers soon began to pull away again. This time, Louis Iglesias joined the leading trio and overtook all three shortly before the race reached its halfway point. The race had started under a heavy grey sky, but threatening rain clouds were now gathering on the horizon. By this stage, Ryba was third, three seconds behind the leader, while Raber was fourth, just 1.5 seconds behind his team-mate.
Although the leading cars tried to delay their pit stops for as long as possible while waiting to see whether the rain would arrive, Ryba and Raber eventually pitted together after 64 minutes of racing. Their stops triggered a wave of pit visits throughout the field. However, just as the LMP3s were changing tyres, a heavy shower began soaking part of the Silverstone circuit, resulting in several cars running off track. That prompted the Safety Car to return to the circuit. Further incidents extended the neutralisation for almost half an hour, although by then the rain had stopped.
The Safety Car had also split the leading group, leaving five cars ahead, including both Brutal Fish by Campos Ligiers. At the restart, Fluxá stayed on wet-weather tyres, while Rogeon opted for slicks after a second pit stop. Despite losing numerous positions, the Frenchman produced a devastating final stint to mount a remarkable recovery. After completing 51 laps, Fluxá crossed the finish line in fourth place, while Rogeon completed his comeback to take fifth.
With five of the six rounds on the calendar now completed, Raber and Rogeon sit second in the overall standings with 67 points, while Fluxá and Ryba are third on 62 points.
The final chapter of this thrilling season will have to wait until 9 and 10 October, when the season finale will take place at the Algarve International Circuit.
