With three wins, Jensen jumps into TCR Denmark’s lead

Five-time TCR Denmark champion Kasper H. Jensen has jumped on top of the standings for the first time since the season opening at Padborg Park four months ago. With three race wins at the Jyllandsringen, in the championship’s penultimate event, Jensen has climbed from P3 to P1, though on equal points points with his Race Group teammate Malte Ebdrup.

TPR Motorsport’s Mike Halder, who was leading the championship, experienced a difficult weekend; he missed Race 1 because of a technical issue, lost a second place in Race 2 due to a red flag and finally salvaged his title hopes with a daring overtaking move in Race 3. The German driver has now slipped to third, 21.5 points behind Jensen.

Race 1 – Just like in the previous event, Ebdrub had beaten Halder during the qualifying session’s dying moments; however, unlike in Copenhagen, Ebdrup did not incurred in penalties and won the pole by 15 thousandths, with Jensen third fastest. With Halder sidelined by transmission issues before the start, Jensen led from Ebdrup and took a comfortable victory by five seconds. Magnus Dall was set to finish third, but he spun in lap 10 and dropped behind his brother Mathias and René Povlsen.

Race 2 – Magnus Dall sat on pole of the reversed grid, with Marco Dahl alongside; at the start Dall led from Povlsen, but after four turns Jensen, Ebdrup and Halder – sixth, fifth and eighth on the grid – were already 1-2-3. Behind them, Povlsen overtook Dall for fourth in lap 3. While Jensen ran away, there was a thrilling battle for the second place between Ebdrup and Halder, with the German driver who muscled his way past in lap 8, just before the race was red-flagged after Lars Højris Honda crashed and rolled. Højris escaped with pains at his back; the race was not resumed. The final result was that of the lap before the red flag, with Ebdrup second and Halder third; half points were awarded.

Race 3 – Jensen and Ebdrup were on the front row, thanks to their scores in qualifying and the first two races, with Halder fifth. Because of the long delays caused by the incident, the race was shortened to 13 minutes plus one lap. Jensen got away well from the pole, leading ahead of Povlsen, Halder and Ebdrup who entered abreast into T1. Ebdrup took to the inside, while Halder was sandwiched in the middle and had to let his rival through. Undisturbed, Jensen completed his trio of victories, while during the last lap Halder was able to pass Ebdrup for second.

TCR Denmark’s season finale will be at Padborg Park on 12/13 September.

Race 1

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 14 laps
2. Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.909
3. Mathias Dall (Dall Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 29.652

Race 2

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 8 laps
2. Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 5.658
3. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 8.405

Race 3

1. Kasper H. Jensen (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 12 laps
2. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 4.953
3. Malte Ebdrup (Race Group, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 5.493

Championship points

1. K.H. Jensen, 405 pts.; 2. M. Ebdrup, 405; 3. M. Halder, 383.5

Picture: TCR Denmark/Stumpphoto