Kasper H. Jensen takes all in TCR Denmark’s visit to Norway

Kasper H. Jensen got a full haul in TCR Denmark’s visit to Norway. At Rudskogen, the reigning champion claimed pole position and won all the three races, scoring 92 out of the 96 points at stake. Actually, he only missed the four points for the two fastest laps in Race 2 and Race 3 that were scored by his rival in the title fight, Mike Halder. The German driver finished twice second and once third, conceding 13 points to Jensen, enough for losing the lead in the standings. In fact, Jensen has moved to the top with a margin of six points over Halder.

Race 1 – The race started under pouring rain; Jensen had the pole and led the field ahead of Halder who was trying to chase him, but then lost contact because of the water spray that made it difficult to see. During the second part of the race, Halder closed in on Jensen once again, but couldn’t get close enough to safely attempt an overtaking move. They finished in the order, with the young rookie Malte Ebdrup claiming another podium result; he was able to recover from ninth on the grid and eventually overtook René Povlsen for third. During the last lap, Povlsen lost another position to Mikael Markussen who had recovered after stalling at the start due to a failure of the launch control system.

Race 2 – Halder made a good start from the pole and took the lead, building a small gap ahead of Jensen who was fighting to defend the second place from Markussen. The top three positions did not change, but after the race Halder was handed a five-second penalty for repeatedly trespassing the track limits and so dropped to third behind Jensen and Markussen. Ebdrup completed another brilliant race, recovering from the last spot of the grid to fourth under the flag.

Race 3 – Jensen was on pole once again, with Halder next to him. The two of them pulled away at the front, delivering a thrilling battle, with Halder trying several attempts to steal the lead from Jensen who used all the defensive tricks from the textbook and eventually won by three tenths. For the whole race Markussen was closely following the leading pair, waiting in vain for finding a gap to pass Halder and eventually settled for third.

For the next event the series will return to Jyllandsringen, on 17/18 August.

Rudskogen – Race 1

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 10 laps
2. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.697
3. Malte Ebdrup (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 15.921

Rudskogen – Race 2

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 11 laps
2. Mikael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon VZ), 1.219
3. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 2.470

Rudskogen – Race 3

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 11 laps
2. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.336
3. Mikael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon VZ), 0.631

Championship points

1. KH. Jensen, 259 pts; 2. M. Halder, 253; 3. S. Rytter, 167

Picture: TCR Denmark/Stumpphoto