Jensen beats Halder 2-1 in TCR Denmark season opener
TCR Denmark’s new season began at Padborg Park just like it had finished last year, with the same duel between the defending champion Kasper H. Jensen and his challenger Mike Halder.
After a meteoric performance of Malte Ebdrup, who had outpaced the two rivals in Qualifying, Halder muscled his way past Jensen to win the first race. The champion’s answer was not long in coming, as Jensen led his teammate Ebdrup in Race 2 and then took a second comfortable victory in the last race of the day.
Jensen is now leading the standings by 14 points over Halder, with Ebdrup a further four points adrift.
Race 1 – Ebdrup had beaten Jensen to the pole by 80 thousandths, but he stalled at the start and Halder from P3 swerved in avoidance. Jensen led, but Halder immediately began to attack him; they ran abreast for half of the first lap until Halder found a gap and got past.
The pair continued to top the field throughout the race, but Jensen was unable to get near enough to make a move and had to settle for second. Behind them, Ebdrup recovered to third, passing Jacob Wunderow in lap 4.
Race 2 – Marco Dahl’s Hyundai i30 N and Magnus Dall’s Honda FK7 shared the front row of the reversed grid; Dahl made a perfect start but was under pressure from Wunderow and René Povlsen. Jensen who was seventh on the grid was elbowing his way up; he passed Povlsen for P3 and in lap 2 overtook both Wunderow and Dahl. Ebdrup and Halder were also recovering; Ebdrup moved up to second in lap 4, while Halder remained stuck behind Wunderow and was only able to pass him in lap 10 for the third place.
Up front, Ebdrup closed in on Jensen and attempted a move on the final lap, but Jensen closed the gap and won by five tenths.
Race 3 – Jensen and Halder were P1 and P2 on the grid thanks to the points scored in qualifying and the first two races. They both started well, while Ebdrup dropped from P3 on the grid behind Wunderow and Povlsen. He retook the third position in lap 3, while his teammate Jensen managed to create a small gap over Halder and took his second win of the day with a two-second margin.
The championship will race again at Jyllandsringen on 10/11 May.
Race 1
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 16 laps
- Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.955
- Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 5.563
Race 2
- Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 15 laps
- Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.510
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 6.433
Race 3
- Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 16 laps
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 2.094
- Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 5.372
Championship points
- K.H. Jensen, 96 pts; 2. M. Halder, 82; 3. M. Ebdrup, 78
Picture: TCR Denmark/Stumpphoto
