Isabell Rustad secured her second win of the season at Gelleråsen Arena, claiming a second place and a victory in the fourth round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia and moving to second in the GT3 class standings, as she now looks forward to competing on home soil in September.
Isabell Rustad secured her second win of the season during the fourth round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia at Karlskoga, Sweden, the same circuit where she first stepped onto the podium earlier this year.
With a first and second place finish over the weekend, the young Norwegian driver moved up to second in the GT3 class championship standings, with just two rounds remaining.
In her second full season of Porsche competitions, the 18-year-old continues to be a frontrunner at every round: after claiming two podiums at the previous race meeting in Jyllandsringen, Denmark, she returned to the top step at a familiar circuit as the series resumed after a long summer break at Gelleråsen Arena.
The weekend was immediately off to a promising start for Rustad, who was fourth fastest in the first practice session and improved to second in the second practice on Friday morning.
Qualifying took place a few hours later, with the young Norwegian once again fighting for pole position. Despite setting a very competitive time of 1:04.522, she narrowly missed out on pole, finishing just two-tenths behind Wilmer Wallenstam.
Rustad had a great start to race 1, but then had to defend from Frederic Blank into turn one as he had the inside line. However, she retained second place and immediately applied pressure on Wallenstam.
Rustad opened a small gap to Blank, but didn’t quite have the pace to catch Wallenstam, allowing Blank to close back in by lap 5. While Wallenstam pulled away in the lead, Rustad managed to keep Blank at bay until lap 15, when he found a way past her.
With just a minute to go, Rustad reclaimed second place by taking advantage of a lapped car in a blue flag situation. The duo closed the gap to the race leader to just two seconds, but he crossed the finish line first, with Rustad securing a hard-fought second place ahead of Blank.
"In the first race, Wilmer got an early gap, and I was pushed hard from behind by Fredric Blank", Isabell explained. "This led to some tactical driving, allowing Wilmer to drive more efficiently."
"Towards the end of the race, I made a slight mistake on corner exit, allowing Fredric to pass me. Fortunately, when we caught up with a lapped competitor, Fredric was briefly hindered, and I managed to slip past again."
In the afternoon, Rustad had another opportunity, starting from P2 again.
She had another great start, briefly getting ahead of Wallenstam before the braking zone, but ultimately slotted back into second. Behind her, Blank tried to find a way past but spun out.
Rustad set the fastest lap on lap 2, two-tenths quicker than Wallenstam, and closed in on her teammate while pulling away from Ellhage, now in third.
Wallenstam responded by improving his lap time, but Rustad stayed within one second, showing strong sector times.
As the race progressed, Rustad closed the gap and, by lap 12, was right behind the race leader. Under pressure, Wallenstam made a mistake into turn 1, went wide, and Rustad attempted to pass, but her teammate shut the door. With just 3 minutes remaining, Rustad went into full attack mode: on lap 15, with just over a minute left on the clock, she executed a stunning pass to take the lead. Once ahead, Wallenstam couldn’t match her pace, and Rustad pulled away, finishing with a 1.5-second lead.
Isabell therefore emerged as the winner in race 2, her second victory of the season.
"In the second race, I came out second behind Wilmer, and we created a gap to the rest, allowing me to chase him throughout the race", she recalled. "Towards the end, he made a small mistake under braking and lost the line in a corner, allowing me to slip past on the inside. From there, I led to the finish."
With a win and a second-place finish at Gelleråsen, Rustad is now second in the GT3 class standings, trailing her teammate Wilmer Wallenstam by just 9.5 points.
"I would love to have more races here at Karlskoga," she joked on the podium.
Isabell Rustad, the only Norwegian driver in the GT3 class, will have the chance to race on home soil when the next championship round takes place at Rudskogen Motorsenter during the Porsche Festival on September 7th.
"The highlight this year will, of course, be racing at Rudskogen during the Porsche Festival. Last year, there were around 10,000 visitors, and this year, Fragus Motorsport will have a large VIP Lounge with approximately 500 invited guests. I’m really looking forward to it."
"Both last year and the year before, when I made my Porsche debut, I finished in second place, so this year, I hope to stand at the top of the podium", she continued. "Now I’m on my home track and have driven there quite a bit more than my competitors, but a lot needs to come together to win races, and I will do my best."
Comments