Lærke Rønn crowned Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia Vice-Champion, Emma Wigroth returns to the podium
- RACERS
- Sep 24
- 4 min read
Lærke Rønn narrowly missed out on the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia crown after a close duel at Mantorp Park, still securing the Vice-Champion title. Fellow female driver Emma Wigroth returned to the podium and sealed third place in the championship.
Danish racer Lærke Rønn came within minutes of clinching the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia title in her rookie season, but a late-race penalty in the season finale at Mantorp Park ultimately denied her the crown.
Despite the heartbreak, Rønn concluded her first campaign in GT racing as Vice-Champion, with two victories and ten podiums to her name. Fellow female driver Emma Wigroth also made a strong return from last round's accident, ending the season with a podium finish and securing third place in the overall standings.
Rønn entered the Mantorp Park finale as championship leader after an impressive rookie campaign, having adapted seamlessly from single-seaters to the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. With multiple wins and consistent podiums, she faced off against closest rival Rasmus Vendelbo, with just a single point separating the two ahead of the title decider. Vendelbo had closed the gap after sweeping both races at Rudskogen, paving the way for a nail-biting finale in Sweden.
Adding further interest to the weekend was the return of Emma Wigroth, who had been forced to miss the previous races after a heavy crash in qualifying at Rudskogen two weeks earlier. Back behind the wheel with WestCoast Racing, Wigroth aimed to secure a top-three finish in the championship, sitting just a handful of points behind Kasper Soholm.
Rønn immediately established herself as one of the drivers to beat at Mantorp. In the first official practice session, she was just 0.083 seconds shy of pace-setter Philipp Frommenwiler, and crucially over two tenths quicker than Vendelbo. In FP2, she turned the tables and topped the session by 0.059 seconds over her main rival, confirming the weekend would be a two-way fight for the championship.
Qualifying on Friday could not have gone better for the Danish racer. Rønn stormed to pole position for both races, clocking a lap time 0.368 seconds clear of Frommenwiler and 0.429 ahead of Vendelbo, while also securing the second-fastest time to lock in double poles.
The result earned her two bonus points—vital in the tight championship battle—and ensured that her rival would start both races from third. Wigroth impressed with fifth place on the grid for both contests, putting her in prime position to battle for the top three in the standings.
From pole position, Rønn made a clean getaway in Race 1 and held the lead into the first corner, while Frommenwiler slotted into second and Vendelbo third. Wigroth also made a strong start, climbing to fourth. The three leaders quickly pulled away, setting the stage for a tense battle.
Rønn briefly opened a small gap as Vendelbo pressured Frommenwiler, but a wide moment on lap three brought the chasing pack right back onto her rear wing. Frommenwiler applied relentless pressure and, with 10 minutes remaining, found a way through to take the lead.
The Danish rookie now had her mirrors filled with Vendelbo, who launched his own attack. The two title contenders made contact as Vendelbo squeezed past, demoting Rønn to third. With the championship lead slipping away, Rønn fought back hard in the closing laps, staying glued to Vendelbo’s rear bumper, but she could not find a way past before the checkered flag.
Rønn crossed the line in third, ending the opening race with a four-point deficit in the standings. Wigroth delivered a very solid performance in fourth, crucially closing the gap to Soholm for third in the championship.
The title would be decided in the final showdown on Saturday afternoon, with Rønn once again starting from pole. Frommenwiler lined up alongside her, with Vendelbo in third and Wigroth again from fifth.
Rønn made a clean start and retained the lead, while Vendelbo briefly dropped to fourth behind Egfors before reclaiming third by the end of the opening lap.
Frommenwiler was however again on the attack and passed Rønn for the lead on lap two. At this stage, Rønn’s second place would have been enough to secure the title. But the battle quickly intensified.
Vendelbo launched a late move on lap three to snatch second, and Rønn aggressively tried to fight back, as she also had to defend from Egfors, also looming behind. The two title contenders matched each other lap after lap, with Rønn finding more pace in the middle stages. With seven minutes remaining, she attempted a switchback move and moments later the duo made contact, that saw Vendelbo slipping through the gravel and down to seventh.
Rønn pressed on in second place, clearing Egfors once again and appearing on course for the title. But the stewards reviewed the contact and handed her a 10-second time penalty. Despite her efforts to open a gap, Rønn could only finish third on the road, which dropped her to ninth after the penalty was applied—handing the 2025 championship to Rasmus Vendelbo.
While Rønn was left heartbroken, Emma Wigroth had her own breakthrough moment in Race 2. Running steadily in fifth for much of the race, she closed the gap to the leaders in the final laps and was promoted to third after Rønn’s penalty, marking a remarkable comeback after her crash at Rudskogen. The result also vaulted her past Soholm in the standings, sealing third place overall in the championship.
Despite the dramatic finale, both Rønn and Wigroth concluded their campaigns as standout performers. Rønn, in her first season in GT racing, claimed two wins, ten podiums, and consistently front-running pace, establishing herself as a title favorite. Wigroth, meanwhile, bounced back from adversity to secure a podium in the finale and clinch third overall in the standings.
Two female drivers finishing inside the top three of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia marks another significant moment for the series, who already saw Isabell Rustad graduating to the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia, in yet another Porsche program producing highly competitive female talents.
