Lærke Rønn clinches double podium at Rudskogen in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia
- RACERS
- 2 hours ago
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Championship contender Lærke Rønn claimed a third and a second place in a mixed-weather and hard-fought weekend at Rudskogen Motorsenter in Norway, ahead of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia finale at Mantorp.
Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia championship leader Lærke Rønn continued her impressive rookie campaign with a pair of podiums at Rudskogen Motorsenter in the Norwegian round.
In her debut season in the Porsche one-make series, the Danish racer has quickly established herself as a frontrunner after stepping up from single-seaters. Driving the Porsche 718 Cayman, she made an immediate impact with five podiums in her first six races, including a historic highlight at the Scandinavian Raceway opener where she took her maiden victory in Race 2 ahead of Emma Wigroth, securing a memorable all-female 1–2 finish.
Rønn’s momentum carried into the following rounds, where she claimed another victory in the opening race at Drivecenter Arena and added a third place in Race 2. At her home event at Jyllandsringen, she finished second in Race 2 to take the championship lead. Most recently at Gelleråsen Arena, Rønn secured pole position and went on to score back-to-back runner-up finishes, further strengthening her credentials as a championship contender.
At the Norwegian circuit of Rudskogen, Rønn had a strong start to the weekend, finding over a second between the test sessions and ending second fastest. In official practice, she was again second with a 1:41.089 lap. Fellow female racer Emma Wigroth also looked promising, taking second in the opening test session and aiming to add to her podium tally.
In a wet-weather qualifying, Rønn secured second on the grid for both races, in her first qualifying session in the rain. Wigroth qualified third but then suffered a big crash on her final timed lap. With her car too severely damaged and suffering from some neck pain, Wigroth was forced to withdraw from the rest of the weekend. That left Philipp Frommenwiler on pole alongside championship leader Rønn on the front row, while Rønn’s closest title rival, Rasmus Vendelbo, had to settle for fifth.
At lights out for Race 1, Rønn made a better start, launching into Turn 1 to take the lead. She ran slightly wide but kept it straight and held onto first place on the still-damp, tricky track, with Frommenwiler and Vendelbo close behind as the top three pulled away.
Frommenwiler responded immediately and on the second lap launched an attack to retake the lead, with Vendelbo also looking for a way past. Rønn held on briefly but her rival managed to reclaim first – with Vendelbo then seizing second a few corners later. The trio opened up a nine-second gap to the rest of the pack, with Rønn staying glued to the rear of the two leaders and ready to strike again.
As Frommenwiler and Vendelbo battled, Rønn set the fastest lap with a 1:32.203, looking for an opportunity to strike. Her chance came on lap 9 when Frommenwiler spun on a wet patch, allowing Rønn to snatch second with two minutes left on the clock.
Now on a charge, Rønn began hunting down Vendelbo, again setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:31.230. However, she ran out of time and crossed the line in second place. A post-race 10-second penalty for track limits however dropped her to third, but it still meant valuable points and another podium in her rookie campaign.
Later in the afternoon, Rønn again lined up second on the front row for Race 2.
Frommenwiler this time got the better start from pole and led into Turn 1, with Rønn right behind and unchallenged from behind.
The Dane immediately came under pressure from Vendelbo, who had quickly passed Saltvedt and began attacking her on lap 2. Vendelbo made the move stick, but Rønn fought back side by side before eventually conceding the position.
Ahead, Frommenwiler began pulling away, while Rønn stayed within a second of Vendelbo. The two matched lap times throughout the middle phase of the race, with Rønn closing the gap again by lap 10. She could not quite get close enough to launch an attack and ultimately brought home another solid podium in third place.
After the flag, however, Frommenwiler was handed a 10-second penalty for a jump start. This promoted Vendelbo to victory and elevated Rønn to second, securing another valuable haul of points.
With just the season finale at Mantorp Park on September 19–20 remaining, only a single point now separates the Danish title rivals Rønn and Vendelbo in the fight for the championship.
