For Isabella Robusto, a fourth-place finish in Round 7 of the 2017 K1 Speed Young Lions season is a nice change of pace. In a race that featured both dry and wet conditions, Robusto worked her way up from mid-pack to score her first top five finish in several weeks.
A restart with five laps to go gave Robusto the chance to choose her lane and she took full advantage of it. She chose to start on the inside on a wet racetrack. The risky move paid off as she jumped from running outside the top five to the fourth position.
Robusto found herself battling with Ryan Heim and Gracie Trotter for third as the final laps ticked off. Before anyone could come out on top for the third position, another caution on the final lap ended the race. With that caution, Robusto was locked in the fourth position.
“It feels pretty good,” said Robusto after being asked how finishing in the top five felt. “The last couple weeks I’ve gotten stuck by the choose. This week I had the chance, I went for it and worked out for me, so I feel real good.”
“I haven’t raced in changing conditions in Legend cars,” Robusto continued, “but I’ve done it many times in go-karts. I pretty much knew what the track was going to feel like, so I planned my line out before we even started racing. I think that helped.”
After the race, Robusto admitted that she narrowly avoided some of the spins that did not bring out cautions,
“The No. 1 I about got into, but I was looking out ahead of me and not paying attention to all of the other cars.”
In recent weeks, Robusto has struggled to find momentum. In both Rounds 4 and 5 she was taken out in wrecks that also involved her brother, William Robusto. In Round 6, she had an up and down day, ending the race in ninth after getting caught in another wreck.
Now Robusto will look to carry her new found momentum into the remaining three rounds of the BoJangles Summer Shootout on the ¼-mile at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
