PCC Scandinavia: Isabell Rustad continues solid rookie season with double top ten at Jyllandsringen

Isabell Rustad completed another solid performance in the third round of the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia at Jyllandsringen, Denmark, securing eighth and seventh-place finishes across the weekend and strengthening her position as the leading rookie in the series.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

HTB Racing’s Isabell Rustad delivered another consistent and determined performance in the third round of the 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia at Jyllandsringen, Denmark, securing eighth and seventh-place finishes across the weekend and strengthening her position as the leading rookie in the series.

In a competitive qualifying session, Rustad set a 1:07.950 on her final flying lap, securing seventh fastest overall and earning a place in Q2. She improved again with a 1:08.029 in the second segment, retaining her position and lining up seventh on the grid for both races.

“My goal for Jyllandsringen was to improve on my best result from Fällfors and aim for the top five,” Rustad commented. “I struggled a bit with flow in practice, but qualifying went well when I got new tyres – I improved by 1.4 seconds and qualified only 0.7s off pole, which is the closest I’ve been this year.”

Lining up from the fourth row for the opening race, Rustad initially held her ground in seventh but dropped one position to Ole Petersen by the end of lap one. Up front, Emil Persson overtook Johan Kristoffersson to claim the lead and pulled away with a series of sub-1:08 lap times.

Rustad improved her own pace throughout the race, consistently lapping in the mid 1:08s range. She maintained a safe margin over Albin Wärnelöv behind while Petersen gradually extended the gap ahead. Rustad held her position in eighth for the remainder of the race, bringing home solid championship points.

After finishing eighth in Race 1, Rustad revealed post-race that a tyre issue had affected her car's balance: “I never got into a proper rhythm. The car understeered a lot and when I changed my driving to counter that, it oversteered. After the race we found out the rubber on the front tyres had started separating, which explained the poor grip.”

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

For Sunday’s second race, Rustad again started from seventh. A stronger getaway allowed her to remain in position through the opening corners, shadowing Wärnelöv in the early laps. On lap three, she clocked a 1:08.4 – over half a second quicker than Wärnelöv – as she began to apply pressure.

Just as she prepared to attempt a move, Petersen launched a forceful overtake from behind, pushing Rustad through the gravel. Despite the off-track excursion, she managed to stay ahead of her teammate Wallenstam and retained eighth.

She soon benefitted from a mistake for Wärnelöv on lap eight, moving back up to seventh. Although Petersen was now a few seconds up the road, Rustad kept her pace under the 1:09 mark and held off Wallenstam while closing in on Kristoffersson, who had also fallen down the order.

In the final 15 minutes, Rustad mounted an intense pursuit of Kristoffersson. She remained within half a second for multiple laps and made a bold attempt with two minutes to go, but the multiple rallycross champion held firm. Rustad crossed the line in seventh, improving on her result from Race 1 and collecting more valuable points.

Race 2 brought stronger run for the young Norwegian and a highlight battle with Kristoffersson: “It was a tough race, I chased Johan for 10–12 minutes. I had better pace, but he’s one of the best in the world, and very experienced to pass easily. I tried everything I could.”

"After the finish, I was so tired that just getting out of the car was a challenge. With three layers of fireproof driving equipment, about 60 degrees of heat in the car and a maximum heart rate of 201, I was completely exhausted, but it was a lot of fun", Rustad recalled.

With her performances at Jyllandsringen, Isabell consolidated her seventh place in the overall championship standings with 56 points and remains the top rookie in the series.

The Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia now enters a six-week summer break before returning for the Kanonloppet at Karlskoga on August 15–16. With a growing bank of experience and increasingly competitive pace, Isabell Rustad aims to continue the learning experience.

“Even though the results weren’t quite top five this weekend, I’m gaining experience and heading in the right direction,” she concluded. “It’s really motivating to be the best rookie – I feel I’m getting faster and more consistent each time.”