Jensen is crowned TCR Denmark champion for the fifth year
Kasper H. Jensen has established a new record for TCR competition, becoming the first driver to clinch five consecutive titles. In TCR Denmark’s season finale at Jyllandsringen, Jensen drove his Mascot Motorsport Honda Civic to victory in Race 1 and then finished second to René Povlsen in Race 2, securing the title even before the last race in which he put the icing on the cake with yet another win, the ninth for him in the season.
His only rival in the title fight, TPR Motorsport’s Mike Halder, jeopardized his odds when jumped the start in Race 1, which earned him a penalty and then he threw his last hopes to the winds with an ill-judged attempt to overtake Jensen during the second race.
Race 1 – Teammates Jensen and Gustav Birch locked up the front row of the grid at the end of a thrilling qualifying that saw them alternating with Halder on top of the timesheet as the track was drying after a shower. Eventually Jensen set the pole with a lap of 1:14.150 ahead of Birch’s 1:14.953 and Halder’s 1:15.367. Halder made a shooting start from P3 and led ahead of Jensen and Philip Lindberg who had passed Birch from P4. However, Halder was judged to have jumped the start and had to pay a drive-through; he rejoined in second position and Jensen immediately increased his pace to build a 4.5-second gap. Halder pushed and began to eat on his rival’s advantage by a few tenths per lap, but time ran out and Jensen won by less than six tenths. Behind them Lindberg and Birch delivered an exciting fight for P3 until Birch punted Lindberg into a spin on lap 11. Birch was then handed a drive-through and dropped to fourth behind Michael Markussen who had benefitted from the situation to pass Lindberg. These results meant that Jensen’s lead over Halder had grown from eight to 13 points.
Race 2 – Povlsen and Jacob Wunderow shared the front row of the top eight reversed grid, with Halder and Jensen in P7 and P8. Povlsen started better and led from Wunderow and Lindberg, while Jensen and Halder were up to fourth and fifth by the end of the first lap. The two title contenders passed Lindberg in lap 2 and Wunderow in lap 3, and then closed the gap to the leader Povlsen, with Jensen sandwiched beteween the two TPR Motorsport cars. In lap 5, Halder made a move on Jensen, and they made contact while entering T1. Jensen retained the second place, while Halder began to lose position and dropped to 11th before eventually retiring in lap 12 with damage to a front suspension. Jensen had settled in second that would be enough to grab the title and followed Povlsen who claimed his maiden win. Birch completed the podium ahead of Markussen.
Race 3 – Jensen was on pole and led the field at the start, while Markussen from P3 passed Birch who was on the front row alongside his teammate. Halder was sixth on the grid but climbed quickly; he passed Povlsen for fifth during the opening lap, then Wunderow for fourth in lap 2, Birch for third in lap 3 and finally Markussen for second in lap 5. By then, Jensen had built a healthy lead and went on to take another win. Behind the two leaders, Birch emerged in third position after a tough fight with Markussen that culminated in a series of clashing in lap 6. Markussen was able to retain the fourth place ahead of Povlsen, but lost the third in the championship to Birch for one point.
Jyllandsringen – Race 1
- Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.567
- Mikael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon VZ), 19.575
Jyllandsringen – Race 2
- René Povlsen (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
- Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 3,417
- Gustav Birch (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 9.585
Jyllandsringen – Race 3
- Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
- Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 2.804
- Gustav Birch (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 17.578
Championship points
- KH. Jensen, 492 pts; 2. M. Halder, 455; 3. G. Birch, 338
Picture: TCR Denmark/Stumpphoto
