Isabell Rustad twice on the podium in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia at Jyllandsringen

Isabell Rustad achieved two podium finishes in the third round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia at Jyllandsringen on her first visit to the circuit, and is now just 5.5 points behind the championship leader in the GT3 class.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic / A1 Work

Isabell Rustad claimed two podium finishes in the third round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia championship at Jyllandsringen, Denmark, significantly closing in on the points lead with a third and a second place.

Rustad, 18, had secured her first win in the series in the previous round at Gelleråsen Arena and continues her outstanding second full season in the Porsche one make series with more notable results as she clearly establishes herself as one of the championship contenders, just 5.5 points behind Wilmer Wallenstam.

The third round on Danish soil was a new challenge for Rustad, who visited the 2.350 km circuit for the first time: "This was a new track for everyone and I didn't feel like I had quite the pace this weekend", she later commented, with only two practice session available to familiarize with the track. This resulted in tightly-contested races as most of the drivers entered race day on Sunday basically on equal pace.

Nevertheless, the Fragus Motorsport driver qualified third on the grid of both races and was right in the mix for the win, despite tricky starts that forced her to fight back.

Rustad, in fact, fell behind Ludwig Ellhage on the first lap of race 1, slotting into fourth place. She relentlessly pursued Ellhage throughout the race, applying significant pressure in the closing laps but was ultimately unable to find a gap.

When Fredric Blank retired from the lead with a gearbox failure, both gained a position and the duel became a fierce battle for second place. Although Ellhage created a small gap midway through the race, Rustad closed in during the final laps but had to settle for third. Despite this, Isabell secured another important podium finish championship-wise, continuing a highly consistent streak.

Fellow Fragus Motorsport driver Wilmer Wallenstam secured his fourth victory of the season after inheriting the top spot for Blank's retirement on lap 5.

"​I struggled a bit with the starts this weekend and felt we didn't quite figure out the track on new tyres", Rustad commented. "It is bumpy and very demanding to drive. You don't get any rest. In addition, I felt that my starts were a bit difficult as the pace on the inside line was a bit slow, and I was overtaken on the outside in both starts, and lost a bit on that", she said.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic / A1 Work

In the second race, in fact, she would again fall behind a few cars as the lights went out; Fredric Blank initially led from pole position, followed closely by Wallenstam, Ellhage, and Rustad.

However, on the first lap, a collision between Ellhage and Rustad triggered the safety car, although Rustad was luckily able to continue.

"I was involved in a small crash with Ellhage that I could do nothing about, and it involved a safety car", Isabell said.

After the restart, more drama ensued: Blank hit a bump and spun; Wallenstam nearly avoided him but clipped Blank's right rear wheel, causing both cars to go off. The latter managed to rejoin the race, albeit seventh overall and third in the GT3 class.

Seizing the opportunity, Rustad took over the race lead, closely followed by Andersson and Kasper Søholm, who later encountered technical issues towards the end of the race.

Rustad crossed the finish line first but was ultimately demoted to second place due to a ten-second penalty for an improper starting procedure.

Despite this setback, she remains the only driver in the GT3 class to have finished on the podium in every race this season.

"I got a lot of championship points with a second place and a third place. And that means that I am very satisfied with the spring season overall", Rustad stated.

"I am very happy that I can take the summer holiday in second place in the GT3 class, and only 5.5 points behind the championship leader makes me look forward to getting started again in the autumn," she continued.

While Jyllandsringen was a new track to her, the remaining tracks are much more familiar to the young Norwegian: "Then there will be tracks I know very well and the highlight will of course be the round during the Porsche festival at Rudskogen Motorsenter 6-7 September where I get to drive on my home track."

The next round in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia will be held at Karlskoga on 16 and 17 August, as Isabell will return to the track where she won her first race in the series at the beginning of June.

"It will be good to have a little break and charge the batteries a bit before it all starts again."