Kasper H. Jensen secures his fourth TCR Denmark title
Kasper H. Jensen took pole position, a race victory, and a podium at the final weekend of TCR Denmark at Jyllandsringen to claim his fourth consecutive drivers’ title in his GMB Motorsport Honda Civic Type R.
Race 1 – Jensen set the marker down by securing his sixth pole in seven race meetings and leading ahead of two of his title rivals Jan Magnussen and Nicolai Sylvest. Mike Halder, Jensen’s closest pursuer in the standings, had only qualified sixth, but was immediately up to fourth and joined the train of the leaders. Jensen controlled the pace and built a large gap, and despite a late-race safety car to recover Michael Markussen’s stranded CUPRA, he wasn’t under threat at the restart and went on to win ahead of Magnussen and Sylvest who were now both out of contention, while Halder had a mathematical shot, but would need to win the last two races with Jensen barely scoring to stand a chance.
Race 2 – Philip Lindberg started from pole in his Honda Civic FL5 with Silas Rytter alongside in the Hyundai i30. Lindberg led, while Rytter made a misjudged dive at Turn 4, going off and dropping to the back of the pack. Lindberg continued to lead ahead of Kevin Brandsborg’s Honda with Kevin Engman’s Audi third, but Engman was passed by both Halder and Sylvest before the end of the lap. On lap two the safety car was deployed as Jan Magnussen’s CUPRA was stranded at the exit of Turn 1 after contact with Didrik Esbjug’s Honda. When the race restarted, Brandsborg let teammate Halder past; the German harried Lindberg for the remainder of the race, but he couldn’t find a way past. Lindberg held on to take his maiden win ahead of Halder and Brandsborg; a conservative drive to ninth for Jensen was enough to secure the title.
Race 3 – Halder was on pole ahead of Jensen and managed to hold on ahead of the newly crowned champion despite constant pressure for 14 laps in a race without a safety car to claim his fourth win of the season and solidify his second place in the drivers’ championship. Jensen finished second ahead of Sylvest in a largely processional race.
Jensen won his fourth title by 28 points ahead of Halder, with Sylvest 49 points behind.
Jyllandsringen – Race 1
1. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 13 laps
2. Jan Magnussen (Auto Lounge Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 1.960
3. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 2.832
Jyllandsringen – Race 2
1. Philip Lindberg (PL Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 12 laps
2. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 0.369
3. Kevin Brandsborg (TPR Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 0.764
Jyllandsringen – Race 3
1. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 14 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 0.139
3. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 1.451
Championship points
1. KH. Jensen, 362 pts; 2. M. Halder, 334; 3. N. Sylvest, 313
Picture: TCR Denmark/Stump Photo
