Toyota GR Cup NA: Isabella Robusto returns to the top-10, Paityn Feyen banks valuable experience at Barber Motorsports Park

Isabella Robusto continued her strong form in the Toyota GR Cup North America as she scored a top-10 finish at Barber Motorsports Park, displaying excellent one-lap pace in qualifying, before driving smartly in the pair of 45-minute races. Paityn Feyen battled to a pair of top-20 finishes on her debut at the circuit.

Photo credits: SRO Motorsports Group

Isabella Robusto continued her strong form in the Toyota GR Cup North America as she scored a top-10 finish at Barber Motorsports Park. Driving for RVA Graphics Motorsports by Speed Syndicate, Robusto displayed excellent one-lap pace in the pair of qualifying sessions, before driving smartly in the pair of 45-minute races. After securing a 12^th place finish in race one, Robusto ended the event with a tenth-place result as she again showed her adaptability.

It was a more challenging event for Nitro Motorsports driver Paityn Feyen who battled to a pair of top-20 finishes on her debut at the circuit. Despite a pit stop in race two, Feyen’s achieved a best result of 18^th position as she made significant progress over the course of the weekend, particularly in her one-lap performance.

Barber Motorsports Park was the venue for the penultimate round of Toyota GR Cup North America season. In her rookie campaign, Feyen has displayed good speed as she adapts to the close and competitive racing within the one-make series. Although it was challenging previous round at Road America, a good charge through the field in the closing stages of race two ensured she ended the weekend on a high.

Feyen was again joined on the grid by Robusto who made her season debut at Virginia International Raceway in July. Robusto adapted superbly despite her main championship campaign taking place in the ARCA Menards Series, an extremely different form of racing with the majority of races held on ovals.

Robusto has scored back-to-back fourth place finishes in the previous two events in the ARCA Menards Series and she was now looking to carry this form into the latest round of Toyota GR Cup North America.

The first test session at Barber Motorsports Park took place on Thursday with both Robusto and Feyen gaining valuable mileage. Both drivers completed 18 laps with Robusto setting the 13^th fastest time on a 1:40.183, while Feyen ended the opening session as the 17^th quickest driver with a best lap of a 1:41.324 in her Nitro Motorsports machine.

Friday’s action began with the second test session which saw Robusto and Feyen both improved upon their times from the previous day. Robusto dipped below the 1:39 mark for the first time which saw her end the session in eighth, while Feyen found three-quarters of a second to set the 20^th fastest time.

Two official free practice sessions followed and additional experience was gained by the pair of female drivers. Feyen improved by almost a second in the first session as she set a faster time than Robusto for the first time during the event. Robusto responded by once again ending the day within the overall the top-10, with Feyen inside the top-20 as she continued to progress as she gained experience at Barber Motorsports Park.

The first qualifying session of the weekend took place on Saturday morning with the majority of the drivers utilising the slipstream early in the session. The lap times remained extremely close with Robusto setting the 11^th fastest time with her best lap of a 1:37.908 less than one second faster than polesitter Westin Workman. Feyen showed good speed in the final sector and this resulted in a quickest time of a 1:39.527 which placed her in 20^th position overall.

Race one of the weekend took place on Saturday afternoon with Robusto lining up from tenth on the grid with Feyen starting from 20^th position. It was a great start for both female drivers with Feyen especially getting a superb getaway. The Nitro Motorsports driver quickly gained five positions to move inside the top-15 on lap one, before the race entered a full course yellow period. Robusto gained one position and she did a nice job to avoid an incident ahead of her to escaped undamaged after the opening tour.

Due to debris on the circuit, the race was briefly neutralised before the green flag was displayed on lap four. On the restart, Robusto lost out to Lucas Weisenberg and Jenson Sofronas, however she moved ahead of Jackson Tovo as Isabella settled into 11^th position. After Tovo had been forced wide, Feyen was also able to capitalise and she was now up to 14^th as her excellent start to the race continued.

Misfortune then struck for the young driver on lap six as Feyen spun on the exit of turn one which dropped her to 22^nd position. Meanwhile, a small gap had opened up in front of Robusto as she got back up to speed following the restart. Despite some pressure from the group of drivers behind, Isabella was soon back into the top-10 after Weisenberg served a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.

On lap nine, a new personal best lap saw Robusto match the times of those inside the top-5 and this ensured her advantage over Ford Koch was now over a second. Feyen was doing a nice job to recover from her earlier spin as she overtook Weisenberg following his penalty, while Paityn also passed Rutledge Wood.

Although Weisenberg was able to re-pass Feyen on lap nine, Paityn regained her spot inside the top-20 following a retirement for Max Stallone. Robusto’s pace in the middle portion of the race was consistent, however the group behind were beginning to use the slipstream effect to close in. After a close battle with Ethan Tovo, the Nitro Motorsport driver moved ahead with Koch and Jackson Tovo also applying pressure.

On lap 20, Koch overtook Robusto with Isabella now in 12^th spot as she targeting a strong end to the race. Now running in a competitive quartet of cars, her lap times began to improve and two personal best laps ensured she remained in contention for a top-10 finish. Although she was unable to gain any further positions, it was a positive return to Toyota GR Cup North America for Robusto as she took the chequered flag in 12^th position.

Feyen did a nice job to catch Liam Harrison in the closing stages and following a drive-through penalty issued to Massimo Sunseri, she was up to 19^th position. Paityn continued to cut the deficit to Harrison and she ended race one in 19^th place, less than five seconds behind the Copeland Motorsport driver in a race which she displayed good speed without having the result to show for it.

Sunday’s action began with the second qualifying session and both drivers were looking to show improvements in their one lap pace. Robusto’s fastest time came in the latter stages of the session and after setting a lap of a 1:37.365, she qualified in ninth position. Feyen made superb improvements as she set her quickest time of the event by over one second with her qualifying lap of a 1:38.339 placing her in 20^th position.

The second race of the weekend took place later that day with Robusto targeting a top-10 result from ninth on the grid, while Feyen was aiming to make progress from 20^th position. From the fifth row, Robusto did a nice job to maintain her position on the opening lap as she looked to remain in contention with the leading pack. Feyen also enjoyed a clean start and although she lost one spot to Liam Harrison, she was looking to build her speed throughout the race.

The early exchanges of the race were closely contested throughout the field and the first major position changes occurred on lap four. Ford Koch mounted a challenge on Robusto and he made the move at turn five, before Isabella attempted to execute the cut back out of the corner. Although she was able to draw level, Koch claimed ninth position with Robusto now in tenth spot.

Just behind, an issue for Ethan Tovo elevated Feyen inside the top-20 and after Patrick Brunson ran wide at turn one on the following lap, the Nitro Motorsport driver was into 19^th position. Feyen then ran a personal best time and after setting a lap quicker than the next three drivers, she was looking to make progress through the field.

Robusto was enjoying a battle with Jaxon Bell and the Copeland Motorsport driver was looking make a move to keep his championship hopes alive. Nonetheless, Isabella was defending well and displaying excellent racecraft to hold-off the former race winner. On lap six, Feyen was into 18^th after Jenson Sofronas served a drive-through penalty and she was now shaping up to pass Harrison.

On lap eight, Feyen ran side-by-side with her rival and contact was made as she moved her Nitro Motosports machine ahead. This briefly moved Paityn into 17^th position, however she was forced to pit on the next lap in order to repair damage on the front-right corner. As a result, Feyen rejoined the race in 19^th position, however she was a lap down with Tovo directly behind following his earlier issue.

After briefly losing touch with the group ahead while battling Bell, the drivers inside the top-5 also began exchanging positions and this allowed Robusto to close back in. On lap 16, Bell moved ahead of Robusto after making contact at turn five with Isabella doing well not to lose any additional spots. As a result of the contact, race control required the positions to be swapped with Robusto reclaiming a spot inside the top-10.

Bell was keen to move back ahead and after making further contact at turn five, he reclaimed tenth spot with Max Stallone also able to pass Robusto after she lost momentum on the exit of the corner. Robusto was now in 12^th position, however her lap times remained strong as she looked to make late-race progress.

Meanwhile, Feyen lost out to Tovo and following this manoeuvre, Paityn remained consistent right to the chequered flag. After briefly falling to 20^th position, a further pit stop for Ethan Tovo and a technical issue for Spike Kohlbecker saw Feyen finish race two at Barber Motorsports Park in 18^th position.

Robusto was also able to benefit from Kohlbecker’s misfortune and after Max Schweid pitted with damage, Isabella started the final lap in tenth position. She continued to apply the pressure to Stallone right to the line as she secured an excellent tenth place finish in a race which she drove smartly in a competitive field of drivers.

Robusto has excelled in her limited opportunities in the Toyota GR Cup North America as she has consistently battled for top-10 finishes. Although Feyen had a challenging weekend, her improvements in one-lap pace in particular gave cause for optimism as she reaches the conclusion of her rookie season in the series.

The final round of Toyota GR Cup North America is set to take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the weekend of 18^th/19^th October.