Norwegian racer Isabell Rustad claimed her first pole position in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia – which she then converted in her first victory in the series, after a stellar weekend at Gelleråsen Arena.
Norwegian racer Isabell Rustad claimed her first win in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia after a stellar weekend at Gelleråsen Arena, hosting the second round of the season for the one-make series that has proven to be one of the most formative on the Porsche ladder for young sports car talents.
Rustad made her debut in 2022 with a one off appearance that turned heads with a podium finish. The 17 year old then returned for a full season campaign in 2023 – and secured six podiums, eventually finishing fourth overall in the standings in her first season in the GT3 class, at the wheel of the 911 GT3 Cup car.
Her return to the championship in 2024 represented another important step for her career, as she soon established herself as one of the championship contenders; at the season opener at Scandinavian Raceway, Rustad qualified second and was runner up twice in the two races, only behind Fragus Motorsport's teammate Wilmer Wallenstam.
Karlskoga's Gelleråsen Arena hosted the second round and Rustad aimed to make more progress, with more podiums and potentially a maiden victory in sight.
While the pre-event testing saw the young Norwegian driver running steadily in third position, Isabell showed good speed and, by the second practice, she topped the timing sheets by two tenths of a second – in a promising performance ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
And, indeed, she kept momentum and was able to beat the competition in a closely contested qualifying session, eventually taking her first pole position by 0.067 of a second over Frederic Blank, while Wallenstam was not far behind, a little less than two tenths of a second off. Her fastest time meant that Rustad would line up from pole in race 2, but Blank's second best lap was enough to secure him pole position for the opening race of the weekend.
In a very wet first contest, Rustad had a good getaway and soon tried to attack the race leader but couldn't quite make a move stick. This opened the door to Wallenstam, who demoted his teammate to third on the first lap, before he caught and passed Blank.
From third on the grid, the first round dominator grabbed the lead and never looked back – as Blank was now under pressure from Rustad.
The two battled hard for the race, with Isabell consistently glued to Blank's #79 Porsche as the race reached its final minutes. Despite the efforts, Rustad finished the first race of the weekend in third place, two tenths of a second behind Frederic Blank after a last lap attempt.
With three wins over the first three races of the season, Wilmer Wallenstam aimed for another clean sweep – but he would have to beat a tough competitor like Isabell Rustad on Sunday, as the Norwegian held pole position. And indeed, Isabell delivered brilliantly.
Rustad was determined to take her first victory and she put on a challenge straight from the opening laps, when she held off the rivals Frederic Blank and, after the latter was demoted to third, Wallenstam. Despite the heavy pressure, the young woman never made mistakes and was flawless, always closing the gaps while also logging fast laps.
The two Fragus Motorsport drivers were in fact the only two to lap under the 1:05 mark – and while Wallenstam had marginally faster first and third sectors, Isabell could always keep him behind and never gave him any opportunity to attack. A very tense final lap saw Rustad having to navigate traffic of a lapped car, but she did so with experience and held on, crossing the finish line a little over three tenths of a second ahead.
"I am very happy, but it was stressful", she commented. "I was hoping I could get a gap, but I never did so it was a tough fight all the way to the finish line".
Her performance gained her the Aspen Driver of the Day award, and she now sits second in the GT3 class drivers' standings, fourth in the overall classification.
The Danish circuit of Jyllandsringen will host the third round of the season on 29-30 June.
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