Brandon McCaughan Sees Leading Pace Go Unrewarded In Barcelona

Prototype racing rising star Brandon McCaughan produced exceptional pace in the opening round of the 2026 Ligier European Series in Barcelona, but saw a couple of unfortunate penalties deny him a trip to the podium this past weekend (10-11 April).

Replicating the electrifying speed and potential he showed during two brilliant outings in the championship in recent seasons, the Northern Irishman fought his way into the lead of both races in Spain to cement his status as one to watch across the 2026 season. McCaughan has reunited with reigning champions Team Virage this season, having taken a stunning double victory together in his last Ligier outing at Silverstone last year. He is sharing his Ligier JS P4 sports prototype with Filipino racer Sebastien Kawpeng.

Visiting the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time, McCaughan got some crucial mileage under his belt during free practice on Friday. Despite some problematic braking issues causing them trouble, they were able to establish themselves in the top six overall in both sessions. Better was to come in qualifying that afternoon, with both drivers finishing in the top three in their respective sessions to put themselves right in the podium mix for both Saturday’s races. McCaughan started behind the wheel for the opener, which proved to be a stop-start encounter.

Three safety car periods inside the opening half an hour limited McCaughan’s racing time, but it didn’t stop him making progress. Taking advantage of the restarts, he twice pulled off brilliant moves into the opening corner to eventually settle into the lead of the race. Handing over to Kawpeng at the halfway point, his team-mate kept their podium charge going until their hopes were cruelly dashed with a stop/go penalty for a pitstop infringement. That put them back to 17th place, but a good recovery drive in the final ten minutes secured them a top ten result.

Kawpeng was in the cockpit for the start of race two and maintained second place through a couple of safety car periods. An unfortunate error at one of the restarts saw him overtake prior to the start-finish line though, which netted them a ten-second penalty to be added to their race time. McCaughan emerged from the pitstop cycle in third. He benefitted from a mistake by the driver ahead to grab second, before securing the lead with a great overtake. He went on to take the chequered flag first on the road, however the time penalty dropped them to fifth in the final race result.

The Ballymena-based driver races with the crucial support of his loyal partners; UtilityMapz, I.J. Lynn & Sons, ADM Group and AAA Biomass Services Ltd. The 2026 Ligier European Series season continues next month (01-02 May) with two races at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.

Brandon McCaughan: “It’s a pity that the race results don’t show it, but it’s been a really positive weekend and I’m happy with our performance. The #1 car was on rails, we had the best race car out there, and on pace alone we would have come away with first and second place finishes. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for me, I lost my mother last week, so I had to put that emotion to the side as best as possible and focus on the racing. The team have been fantastic and I couldn’t be happier with them and my team-mate Sebastien [Kawpeng]. His pace was great in only his second event in the car and his mistakes were just down to experience. We make a competitive partnership and I believe we’ve definitely got the pace to be championship contenders. I’m looking forward to Paul Ricard next.”

The two races from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya can be watched back now on the Ligier European Series’ YouTube channel.

McCaughan has some great commercial opportunities available for prospective partners to join him as he competes on the high-profile European Le Mans Series race package. Interested parties can get in touch with him via email, brandon@mccmotorsport.com.