Isabell Rustad scores valuable points in Karlskoga, consolidates her position as top rookie

Isabell Rustad returned from the summer break with 10th and 7th place finishes at Gelleråsen Arena, strengthening her lead in the rookie standings and maintaining seventh in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia championship ahead of her home round at Rudskogen.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

Isabell Rustad was back in action in the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia for the fourth round of the season, which also marked the start of the second half of the championship. The Norwegian racer collected a 10th and a 7th place finish at Gelleråsen Arena in Karlskoga.

Representing HTB Racing and driving for Fragus Motorsport, Rustad steadily added more championship points to her tally and further consolidated her position in the standings as the top rookie. After two days of testing two weeks prior, she felt as prepared as possible for the return from the summer break, although the 10th and 7th place results fell slightly short of her expectations.

"It's good to get back into the swing of things after the summer break. It was right here in Karlskoga last year that I took my first victory in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia", she commented.

"With a 10th place and a 7th place I am not super happy, but there is tough competition and I see progress between the results in the form of being closer to the fastest this weekend than I have been before this year", she added.

Rustad qualified eighth and seventh fastest across the qualifying session, continuing to meet her target of starting inside the top 8 this season. In Race 1, however, too much wheelspin at the start dropped her to 11th on the opening lap.

"I let off the clutch too quickly at the start and got too much wheelspin, and in the heat of the battle on the first lap I was a little off the track", she explained, adding that the excursion caused some aero damage to the front of the car. "That small detail is very important for aerodynamics and the car had a lot of understeer for the rest of the race. But I managed to drive past Prince Carl Philip and up to 10th place."

In Race 2, Rustad lined up seventh on the grid. A cautious start cost her a position to teammate Wallenstam, and she slotted into eighth with Lejonkrans just behind after the latter passed Warnelöv. Running consistently in the 1:04.2 range, Rustad remained within one second of Wallenstam and held a similar margin to Lejonkrans.

Wallenstam then began setting purple sectors as both Fragus Motorsport teammates pushed to close the gap to the cars ahead. Rustad matched her teammate’s pace and stayed competitive throughout the race. With third-placed Krogh receiving a 5-second penalty for a jump start, Rustad needed to close by around two seconds to gain further ground, but tyre degradation in the second half of the race made it difficult to recover.

In the final stages, however, Rustad closed back in on Wallenstam. By lap 26, she caught her teammate and went for a move — the two made contact, with Wallenstam trying to close the door and eventually ending off into the grass, while Rustad held her line and advanced to seventh, where she finished at the chequered flag.

"I had a better start in Race 2 but was probably a little too careful with the clutch this time, so I lost a place at the start, but managed to fight my way back to 7th place at the finish. There was no improvement in terms of results this weekend, but when I was allowed to drive freely my lap times were only two or three tenths of a second slower than the best. It is a good improvement for me that I will take with me further", Rustad reflected.

After this weekend, Isabell Rustad strengthened her position as the best rookie in Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia while maintaining seventh in the overall championship with 71 points — only four points behind Gustav Bergström in sixth.

The next round will be a special one for Rustad: her home race at Rudskogen Motorsenter on September 5th–6th. It promises to be one of the highlights of her season, with large crowds of Norwegian fans, sponsors, and family supporting the only Norwegian on the grid.

"I am really looking forward to driving at Rudskogen again. Then I will be on my home track and hope I can achieve my best result of the year there. Now the goal is to be in the top 5, which I think I have the pace for if I manage to get the best out of myself and the car", she said.