Magnussen completes a hat-trick in TCR Denmark’s opening

Jan Magnussen completed his perfect first racing weekend at the wheel of the CUPRA Leon Competición with a hat-trick of victories in the TCR Denmark season opener at Ring Djursland.
After winning the first race in the morning, the LM Racing driver scored another couple of victories in the afternoon’s races and so left Ring Djursland with a 28-point leadership in the standings over the reigning champion Kasper H. Jensen.
In Race 2, Kenn Bach started from the pole of the top-ten reversed grid but kept the lead for one lap only before the fastest drivers moved ahead. Jensen and Magnussen who were sixth and ninth on the grid, quickly elbowed their way to the top. Jensen led from the second to the fourth lap, then Magnussen passed him in lap 5 and went to claim his second victory of the day.
Behind the two leaders, Michael Markussen followed in third position until lap 11, when Casper Elgaard managed to overtake him to secure the final spot on the podium. During the final part of the race, Markussen defended the fourth place from the attacks of Jacob Mathiassen who eventually had to settle for fifth, only eight tenths behind Markussen.
Nicolai Sylvest, second in Race 1 behind his teammate Magnussen, retired in lap 4 after making contact with another driver and did not start in Race 3. 
The third race was another lights-to-flag win for Magnussen who started from the pole of a grid determined by the points scored in the first two races. Magnussen took the lead from Jensen and Elgaard who started from P2 and P3, while Mathiassen made a better getaway of Markussen and moved into fourth. 
Once again, there were very few overtaking manoeuvres during the race, one of them concerned the fifth position that Michael Carlsen stole from Markussen in lap 3.
From then on there were no other changes within the top ten. Magnussen scored his third victory of the day with a 3.5-second margin, while Jensen successfully defended the second position despite Elgaard’s efforts. Mathiassen and Carlsen finished in fourth and fifth, and Markussen retained the sixth position at the end of a close battle with Kenn Bach, Gustav Birch and René Povlsen. 
The championship will resume at Jyllandsringen, July 3/4.

Ring Djursland – Race 2
1. Jan Magnussen (LM Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 18 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (Massive Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 2.914
3. Casper Elgaard (TP Motorsport, Peugeot 308), 4.637
4. Michael Markussen (Markussen Racing, Peugeot 308), 6.254
5. Jacob Mathiassen (Insight Racing, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 7.075

Ring Djursland – Race 3
1. Jan Magnussen (LM Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 24 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (Massive Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 3.450
3. Casper Elgaard (TP Motorsport, Peugeot 308), 3.789
4. Jacob Mathiassen (Insight Racing, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 8.404
5. Michael Carlsen (Carlsen Motorsport, Peugeot 308), 14.503

Championship points
1. J. Magnussen 81 pts; 2. KH. Jensen 53, 3. C. Elgaard 48

Picture: TCR Denmark