Toyota GR Cup NA: Double top-10 finish on return for Isabella Robusto, Paityn Feyen banks valuable experience at VIR
- LIAM REDFORD
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Isabella Robusto made an excellent return to the Toyota GR Cup North America by twice finishing inside the top-10 at Virginia International Raceway, while Nitro Motorsports driver Paityn Feyen also continued her development in her rookie year in the series by securing a pair of top-20 finishes.
Isabella Robusto made an excellent return to the Toyota GR Cup North America by twice finishing inside the top-10 at Virginia International Raceway. In just her second appearance in the championship, Robusto finished ninth in race one before a superb drive in race two saw the RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate driver finish in seventh position, just five seconds away from race winner Westin Workman.
Nitro Motorsports driver Paityn Feyen also continued her development in her rookie year in the series by securing a pair of top-20 finishes. Feyen was involved in a number of close midfield battles over the course of the event and achieved a best result of 17th position as she tackled another new circuit.
As the Toyota GR Cup North America reached the halfway point in the season, Nitro Motorsports driver Feyen was gaining momentum after scoring her first top-15 result last time out at Sebring International Raceway. The teenager racer has continued to take steps forward in her rookie campaign and was now aiming to replicate these results as she tackled another new circuit in the form of Virginia International Raceway.
Feyen was joined by current ARCA Menards Series racer Robusto who returned to the series after making an appearance at Sonoma in 2023. Robusto has six Top-10 finishes driving for Venturini Motorsports this season including a best finish of third.
Isabella lined up alongside brother Will Robusto for the RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate team and she was aiming to make progress throughout the event.
On-track action began on Thursday with a pair of test sessions which were particularly important to Robusto. This was because the Toyota Development Driver spent Friday at Dover Motor Speedway as she resumed her full season program in the ARCA Menards Series. In the first test session, held in dry conditions, Isabella was immediately on the pace as she set the 11th fastest time overall, just over a second away from pacesetter Westin Workman.
Feyen also completed a valuable 12 laps in the first session with the Nitro Motorsports driver getting to grips with the challenging circuit. In a disrupted second session, only a handful of laps were able to be completed by either driver with Feyen’s focus then switched to improving further in the official free practice sessions held on Friday.
In free practice one, Feyen took a good step forward in performance and after completing eight further laps, Paityn had set a best time of a 2:09.376 which placed her in 17thposition. The second session brought further encouragement for Feyen as she gained further knowledge of the circuit while ending the day in 21st position.
The first qualifying session of the weekend took place on Saturday morning and Robusto was back at Virginia International Raceway after matching her career best finish of third in the ARCA Menards Series on Friday. The RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate racer was quickly up to speed and was challenging for positions inside the top-10.
As the times improved in the closing stages, Robusto set her fastest lap of the weekend to date with a 2:07.759 placing her in 15th position. Feyen also enjoyed a productive session with the Nitro Motorsports driver qualifying her machine in 22ndposition, just over a second behind the time set by Robusto.
Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Robusto promoted to 14th on the grid following a penalty for Brett Kowalski, while Feyen lined up from 22nd. It was a fantastic initial start for Robusto who immediately moved into 11th position, before completing lap one in 14th spot. Feyen also enjoyed a clean start and she gained one spot on the first lap, before the race entered a full course yellow period on lap two.
After the recovery of Livio Galanti’s car was completed, the race resumed on lap five. At the head of the field, a multi-car incident unfolded and both Robusto and Feyen did a superb job to avoid a number of spinning cars. As a result, Robusto was up into 11th position, while Feyen was now on the fringes of the top-15 in 16th spot.
The Nitro Motorsports driver was continuing her excellent mid-season form and after passing Karl Forman on lap six, she was into 15th position. Robusto meanwhile, was doing a fantastic job to remain with the leading group of drivers while remaining in 11th.
Although Feyen slipped behind Will Robusto on lap eight after he was on a recovery drive through the field, her pace remained strong and she closed back in on a spot inside the top-15.
On lap 12, Feyen moved into her highest running position to date after overtaking Patrick Brunson while Christian Weir slowed with an issue. An off-track moment then halted Feyen’s progress as she dropped to 18th while battling for 13thposition.
After moving inside the top-10 following Weir’s misfortune, Robusto was into tenth and continuing to apply pressure to the drivers ahead. Isabella passed Ethan Tovo on lap 12 and this led to a superb three-way battle involving Robusto, Tovo and Max Stallone as they duelled for eighth position. As the race entered the closing stages, Will Robusto caught the trio and he was able to make his way through with Isabella settling into ninth.
By using the slipstream to good effect, Robusto was able to pull away from the group behind and following a personal best time on the final lap, she took the chequered flag in ninth position. It was a quiet second half of the race for Feyen who banked valuable experience by finishing race one at Virginia International Raceway in 17th position following a last lap spin for Brunson.
Sunday’s action got underway early in the morning with the second qualifying session. It was a production session for both Robusto and Feyen who pushed to improve upon their times from the previous day. At the end of qualifying, Robusto’s quickest lap of a 2:07.963 placed her in 15th position while Feyen’s fastest time of a 2:09.412 saw the Nitro Motorsports driver qualify in 21st spot.
Race two of the weekend got underway on Saturday afternoon with Robusto starting from 15th, while Feyen lined up from 21stposition on the grid. Both drivers made a great start and initially moved forward from their starting positions with Robusto completing the first lap in 12th, while Feyen gained four spots to move into 17th.
As a number of incidents had taken place among the midfield runners, this resulted in the field being strung out in the early stages and therefore Robusto was detached from the leading group of drivers. Nonetheless, her pace was strong and she overtook both Beltre Curtis and Brett Kowalski on successive laps to elevate herself inside the top-10.
Feyen was also enjoying a strong race as she overtook Ethan Tovo before catching the car of Livio Galanti. Following contact between Feyen and Galanti, the Eagles Cannon Racing driver went off-course with Paityn also losing time. As a result, she was now in 18th position after Tovo also managed to find a way through.
Now inside the top-10, Robusto had a sizeable gap in front of her and she was working hard to break the slipstream to the drivers behind. After a series of impressive laps, she opened out the margin to two seconds and following a trip to the pits for Spike Kohlbecker, Robusto was into ninth.
The misfortune for Robusto’s teammate also helped Feyen as she moved into 16th position before entering a fantastic battle with Massimo Sunseri.
Feyen and Sunseri exchanged positions multiple times before an off-track moment for the BSI Racing driver allowed Feyen to pull clear in 16th. Robusto was still working hard to catch Max Stallone who had become detached from the leading group and on lap 16, she was the second fastest driver on circuit. After a personal best time two laps later, she was now the quickest driver on track and this momentum allowed her to overtake Stallone for eighth.
Despite completing the overtake, Robusto was again the pacesetter and she had cut the margin to the race leader to just six seconds. A fantastic end to the race saw RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate take the chequered flag in eighth position. Following a post-race penalty for a driver ahead, this elevated Robusto to seventh in the final classification.
Feyen meanwhile, enjoyed a superb battle with a recovering Kohlbecker on the final lap with the duo crossing the line with identical times in a tie for 16th position. Feyen was later awarded a post-race time penalty for the contact with Galanti and this dropped her to 19th in the overall classification.
Robusto made an excellent return to the series as she consistently challenged for positions within the top-10. For Feyen, it was a weekend of improvement as the Nitro Motorsports driver banked vital knowledge in her rookie campaign.
The next round of the Toyota GR Cup North America will take place at Road America on the weekend of 16th/17th August.
