Mike Halder is the new points leader in TCR Denmark

Mike Halder has made a crucial move in the battle for TCR Denmark’s title. With two race wins and one second place at Jyllandsringen, the German driver has stolen the lead of the standings from the reigning champion Kasper H. Jensen who salvaged a pair of podium results in what proved to be the most difficult weekend for him so far in the season.

Halder, who can now count on the support of an experienced teammate like Dennis Lind, was victorious in Race 1 and Race 3, adding a precious second place in Race 2 behind Jensen’s young teammate Malte Ebdrup. Halder now leads Jensen by 16 points.

Race 1 – Series newcomer Lind had qualified on pole, outpacing his TPR Racing teammate Halder by 47 thousandths. At the start, Lind led the field, but let Halder through during the first lap, while Jensen and Ebdrup passed René Povlsen advancing to third and fourth. In lap 2, Jensen put the pressure on Lind and after a couple of clashes he muscled his way into second. Behind them, Philip Lindberg passed Povlsen and tried to make a move on Ebdrup; they made contact, Ebdrup went wide while Lindberg took P4. However, he had to serve a drive through for the collision and dropped down, while Gustav Birch and Ebdrup delivered a thrilling fight for the fourth position. Eventually, Ebdrup overtook Birch for good in lap 9. Up front, Halder won with a gap of four seconds over Jensen, with Lind completing the podium.

Race 2 – Jacob Wunderow and Michael Markussen shared the front row of the top-eight reversed grid: Markussen took the lead at the start but was given a drive through for jump start which promoted Wunderow into the lead ahead of Ebdrup, while Halder recovered from P8 on the grid and overtook Lind, Jensen and Birch advancing to third. Wunderow was under pressure from Ebdrup and Halder; both of them passed Wunderow in lap 8 and continued to fight for the lead, while Jensen overtook Birch for P4. Positions froze: Ebdrup held on to the lead, beating Halder to the flag by less than half-a-second, while Wunderow kept Jensen behind to claim his maiden podium result.

Race 3 – Halder had the pole having outscored his competitors in the first two races, with Ebdrup and Jensen in P2 and P3 respectively. Halder got away well and rejected the attempts from Jensen and Ebdrup to retain the lead. During the first lap, Jensen briefly lost third to Lind, but retook the position in lap 2. Lind then, dropped behind Birch and resisted an attack from Markussen who was then passed by Martin Andersen. In lap 5, while defending P7, Markussen was punted into a spin by Wunderow and retired. Up front, Halder continued undisturbed and took his second win of the day, with Ebdrup and Jensen in second and third positions.

The next event is at Ring Djursland in two week-time.

Jyllandsringen – Race 1

1. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.043
3. Dennis Lind (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 7.912

Jyllandsringen – Race 2

1. Malte Ebdrup (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 14 laps
2. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.494
3. Jacob Wunderow (Wunderow Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 4.781

Jyllandsringen – Race 3

1. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
2. Malte Ebdrup (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 2.756
3. Kasper H. Jensen (Mascot Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 6.027

Championship points

1. M. Halder, 345 pts; 2. KH. Jensen, 329; 3. M. Ebdrup, 230

Picture: TCR Denmark/Stumpphoto