Isabell Rustad wins in Rudskogen, takes GT3 championship lead

Isabell Rustad had a stellar weekend at Rudskogen Motorsenter, winning Race 1 and finishing third in Race 2, clinching the championship lead in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia ahead of the season finale.

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

Isabell Rustad enjoyed an almost perfect weekend at Rudskogen Motorsenter, as the 18-year-old Fragus Motorsport driver claimed her third win of the season and stepped on the top step of the podium for the first time in her home race at the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia.

With a first and third-place finish at the Porsche Festival in Norway, Rustad successfully clinched the lead in the GT3 class championship standings, with one round remaining.

"To be able to win at Rudskogen during the Porsche Festival is something I've dreamed of since I drove here for the first time with Porsche 2 years ago," Rustad commented after the successful weekend.

Rustad had made her series debut in a one-off event two years ago and went on to secure third in the championship in 2023 during her first full campaign in the Porsche one-make series. Her sophomore season has been even more impressive, with victories at both rounds in Karlskoga, Sweden. With several podiums to her name, Rustad entered the fifth round of the season second in the championship, only 9.5 points behind teammate Wilmer Wallenstam.

On home soil, the young racer was determined to close the gap—and she did so with a brilliant performance right from qualifying, where she secured pole positions for both races in a dominant session that saw three Norwegian drivers topping the timesheets. Guest entries Eivind Lie and Ole William Nærsnes finished 0.24 and 0.59 seconds behind Rustad, respectively, setting the stage for a strong race day.

"I was very excited about how good they would be and expected tough competition from both of them", Rustad commented after qualifying. "Fortunately, I drew the longest straw and it was fun that we Norwegians were the fastest at the qualification, ahead of the Swedes".

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

Rustad started from pole and kept first place into Turn 1, ahead of compatriots Eivind Lie and Ole William Nærsnes. Wallenstam, starting from P4, gained a position, while Blank, another frontrunner in the previous rounds, was forced to pit and retired from the race on lap 1. Rustad quickly set the fastest lap, pulling away from Lie with a one-second advantage over the following laps, as only a handful of drivers managed to go under the 1:25 mark. Meanwhile, Lie came under pressure from Nærsnes, with Wallenstam closing in on the two cars ahead.

Rustad managed the race pace perfectly, maintaining the gap to around one second despite Lie and Nærsnes pushing hard behind her. Wallenstam, unable to match the leading trio’s speed, fell a few seconds behind by lap 10. However, Lie began closing in on Rustad one lap later, putting her under pressure in the final minutes of the race.

In the closing laps, Rustad had to defend against Lie, with the two drivers driving away from the rest of the field. Rustad expertly closed off all potential overtaking opportunities, crossing the finish line to win her third race of the season, just 0.2 seconds ahead of Lie. Nærsnes took third, five seconds back, while championship leader Wallenstam finished fourth, eight seconds behind. Rustad's victory allowed her to gain significant points in the championship standings.

"It was a perfect race for me, led from start to finish", Rustad summarized. "I was focused on pushing all the way to the finish line and had a safe hatch all the way, but Eivind gained a little at the end, but I didn't feel really threatened even though he got a little closer to me the last few rounds."

Photo credits: Armin Hadzic | A1 Work

For Race 2 in the afternoon, Rustad started from pole once again after her strong qualifying session. This time, however, she had a tougher start as Lie found a gap around the outside at Turn 1, while Wallenstam attempted to force his way past her. The two Fragus Motorsport teammates tangled, and Rustad was shuffled down to fourth place, with Wallenstam moving ahead.

Despite the early setback, Rustad quickly focused on regaining positions. She lapped consistently under the 1:26 barrier, closing in on Wallenstam. While Lie and Nærsnes pulled away at the front on fresher tyres, Rustad applied pressure on Wallenstam. After reviewing the first-lap contact, race direction ordered Wallenstam to give the position back, thus allowing Rustad to pass him on lap 8.

Once back in third place and with clear air, Rustad was consistently eight-tenths faster than Wallenstam and closed the gap to the leaders by three-tenths per lap. Though she was over three seconds behind Lie and Nærsnes, Rustad was able to reduce the gap to two seconds with only a couple of minutes remaining in the race. Unfortunately, time ran out before she could challenge for a higher position.

"I got a small push on the rear wheel and kept spinning, but fortunately I managed to save it", Isabell explained about the incident at the start. "It took a while for me to find my rhythm, but I fought up on Wilmer getting orders from the judges to let me go."

"Eivind and Ole William who were guest drivers had a set of new tyres more than the rest of us who have been driving all season and had saved their last sets for this final, so I was prepared for them to go fast", she continued. "So a new podium for me I was very happy with"

Lie went on to win Race 2, with Nærsnes finishing second. Rustad secured a third-place podium, gaining the overall championship lead with a strong weekend performance.

"Now I'm leading the GT3 championship as well, I've never done that before so this is fun", the young Norwegian concluded. "It will be exciting at Mantorp Park in two weeks, and the only thing I can do is to focus on two good races and do the best I can and hope that it holds for an overall victory"

With 54 points still available, Rustad now leads Wallenstam by 7.5 points heading into the season finale at Mantorp Park on 20-21 September, where she will be in prime position to fight for the title.