Lærke Rønn, Emma Wigroth secure back to back podiums in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia
- RACERS
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Lærke Rønn and Emma Wigroth continued their strong Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia campaigns with back-to-back podiums in the fourth round at Gelleråsen Arena, where championship leader Rønn secured pole position and went on to finish second in both races, while Wigroth came home with two third-place finishes.
Lærke Rønn and Emma Wigroth continued their strong Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia campaigns with back-to-back podiums in the fourth round at Gelleråsen Arena in Karlskoga, Sweden.
Championship contender Rønn secured pole position and went on to finish second in both races, while Wigroth, starting from the front row in each contest, came home with two third-place finishes to add valuable points to her tally.
The debut season in Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia aboard the Porsche 718 Cayman has been remarkable for young Danish racer Lærke Rønn. After stepping up from single-seaters, she immediately established herself as a frontrunner, scoring five podiums in the first six races. The season began with back-to-back highlights: finishing second in Race 1 at Scandinavian Raceway, then winning Race 2 ahead of Wigroth in a historic female 1–2.
Rønn followed that breakthrough with another victory at Drivecenter Arena’s opening race and added a third place in Race 2. At her home round at Jyllandsringen, she again finished second in Race 2, claiming the top spot in the championship standings.
Emma Wigroth, in her sophomore campaign, also opened her season strongly at Scandinavian Raceway, where she finished second. That performance set the tone for her first half of the year, and she returned to the podium at the most recent round, securing her second top-three finish of the season at Jyllandsringen.
Female participation in the series has been impressive since the opening race, when Alexia Danielsson — making a one-off appearance from Nordic4 — claimed victory on her debut, just ahead of Rønn. For the Karlskoga round, another female racer joined the grid: 25-year-old Emma Svensson, who made a guest appearance in the #718 Porsche.
Svensson, aiming to raise sufficient budget for more outings and a potentiall full 2026 season, returned to racing after a hiatus. A karting prospect with international experience in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy, she graduated to Formula STCC Nordic in 2016, finishing fifth in the junior standings after scoring a podium. Funding, however, stalled her career, and she is now determined to relaunch her journey in the Porsche one-make series.
The weekend started positively for Rønn and Wigroth, both in the top three in opening practice. Wigroth was second, three tenths behind Rasmus Vendelbo, while championship leader Rønn was just behind in third. Rønn found more pace in FP2, topping the timesheets with a 1:06.706, with barely 0.075 seconds covering the leading trio as Wigroth slotted into third. Meanwhile, Svensson adapted quickly to the car, making steady progress and finishing ninth fastest on Friday.
Qualifying was eventful, with Rønn, Wigroth and Vendelbo dominating. Wigroth secured a front-row start for both races, while Vendelbo and Rønn each claimed one pole position. Rønn led the early stages before Vendelbo and Wigroth improved her benchmark, but she fought back to secure Race 2 pole with a 1:05.860. Based on second-best laps, Wigroth lined up second for Race 1, with Rønn third.
Svensson impressed in her first qualifying, taking seventh and eighth on the grids.
At lights out for Race 1 on Saturday, Wigroth launched well around the outside but could not get past Vendelbo, while Rønn made a better exit to move into second. Svensson also gained a place, climbing to sixth on the opening lap. Vendelbo tried to pull away, but Rønn set purple sectors and stayed close, with Wigroth in third fending off Andero.
Rønn closed the gap further with a new fastest lap of 1:05.857, running within half a second of Vendelbo, as the pair pulled four seconds clear of Wigroth. While Svensson lost touch with the top five, she defended strongly from Johansson and Andemark.
With eight minutes to go, Rønn remained the closest challenger, though Vendelbo stretched his legs by a few tenths. Wigroth behind held a secure third, building a gap to Andero. The race stayed green after Andemark went off with four minutes remaining, and at the flag, Vendelbo took victory ahead of Rønn, with Wigroth completing a female double podium in third. Svensson capped her debut with an excellent sixth-place finish.
In Race 2, Rønn lined up from pole with Wigroth alongside for a female 1–2 front row, while Svensson started from eighth. Rønn got a strong launch to hold the lead from Vendelbo, as Wigroth was boxed in at Turn 1 and dropped to third.
Rønn set the early pace, the only driver under 1:10 on lap 1, but Vendelbo responded with a 1:06.8 on lap 2 to close back in and then dived down the inside to take the lead. Svensson again made up ground into sixth, while Vendelbo extended his advantage with a series of fastest laps in the low 1:06s. Rønn kept him in sight but could not respond.
Wigroth, meanwhile, held third with consistent 1:07 pace, pulling away from Soholm after he passed Andero. Svensson lowered her times into the 1:07s for the first time, but lost sixth to Johansson on lap 12.
Positions at the front stabilized in the closing stages, with Vendelbo opening a five-second margin over Rønn, while Wigroth ran a further six seconds behind in a secure third. Vendelbo took his second win of the weekend, with Rønn and Wigroth again completing the podium. Svensson finished seventh, capping a very positive return to racing with strong late-race pace.
With her two runner-up finishes, Rønn retained the championship lead on 161 points, now 13 clear of her nearest rival. Wigroth moved from fourth to third in the standings thanks to her third and fourth podiums of the season. The next round is scheduled for 5–6 September at Norway’s Rudskogen Motorsenter.
