Strong season finale for Isabell Rustad at Mantorp Park, secures top Rookie in Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia

At Mantorp Park, Isabell Rustad wrapped up her rookie Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia campaign with a season-best fourth-place finish, securing sixth in the standings, Rookie of the Year honors, and becoming the highest-finishing woman in the championship’s history.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

Isabell Rustad closed her debut Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia season with her best result of the year at Mantorp Park, finishing fourth in the opening race of the weekend and cementing her place in history as the highest-finishing woman of all time in the championship.

Driving for Fragus Motorsport and representing HTB Racing, Rustad capped off a very positive rookie campaign with strong performances in both qualifying and the races, ultimately securing sixth in the standings and Rookie of the Year honors.

“It’s incredibly nice to end the season by achieving the goals I had set for myself before the season,” Rustad reflected. “A top-five position during the season has been my biggest sporting goal this year. The fact that I managed it during the final weekend shows that we have worked systematically and well throughout the season.”

The Norwegian driver, who has shown progress throughout her learning year in Carrera Cup Scandinavia after graduating from the Sprint Challenge category, started the finale in impressive form at Mantorp Park — a circuit she particularly enjoys.

In qualifying 1 she set the fourth-fastest time with a 1:15.182, before improving to 1:14.868 in qualifying two. That effort was narrowly beaten by Gustav Bergström by just two hundredths of a second, meaning Rustad lined up fifth for race two.

From her fourth-place grid slot in race one, Rustad made an excellent getaway but soon came under pressure from Emil Persson, who was fighting for second place in the championship. Rustad held firm under intense pressure, kept Persson behind, and crossed the line in fourth place — just two-tenths of a second behind the podium positions. It was her most convincing performance of the year and a career-best result in her rookie campaign.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

Race two proved to be more difficult. Starting from fifth, Rustad lost out at the launch and slipped to seventh. “There was little grip on the asphalt at the start of race two which meant that I didn’t get enough traction in the car from the start,” she explained.

Battling teammate Wilmer Wallenstam for sixth through Mantorp’s fastest corner, Rustad ran two wheels off track and lost control, spinning and dropping to twelfth. She rejoined and fought her way back to tenth at the finish, salvaging more points despite the setback.

With the final round complete, Rustad concluded her rookie season with plenty of reasons to be proud. “You could say I have achieved this year’s goal,” she summarized. “I have completed all races, scored points in all races, qualified for the top 8 in all races, fourth place as the best result and that is the best any woman has managed in the Carrera Cup since its inception in 2004, sixth place in the championship which is also the best position for a woman, and that I became the best Rookie this year.”

Rustad’s achievements came in a season dominated by her Fragus Motorsport teammate Daniel Ros, who secured the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia title, while William Siverholm finished second overall, also representing Fragus Motorsport. With sixth overall, Rustad was not only the best rookie but also wrote her name into the record books as the most successful woman in the championship’s 20-year history.

“I am so incredibly grateful to be able to drive for Fragus Motorsport,” Rustad said. “They have enormous expertise and the ability to make the whole team a big family.”

With her learning-oriented rookie season complete, Rustad now turns her attention to 2026. The Norwegian talent is already working to secure the budget for next year, with her target set on returning to the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia with Fragus Motorsport to build on an exceptional debut campaign.