Magnussen grabs TCR Denmark lead and TCR Scandinavia trophy
Kasper H. Jensen, Mike Halder, and Jan Magnussen all took a win apiece at the Swedish event of TCR Denmark in Falkenberg, while Magnussen assumed the championship lead and clinched the TCR Scandinavia Trophy as well.
Race 1 - Jensen had placed his Honda Civic on pole, ahead of the CUPRA cars of Magnussen and Nicolai Sylvest. Jensen made a good start, while Magnussen had a relatively slow reflex and held on to second place from Sylvest. There was a brief safety car intervention after Christian Skaar’s collided with Didrik Esbjug’s Honda on lap six. When the race resumed, Jensen controlled the pace to take victory from Magnussen and Sylvest in what was a relatively uneventful race.
Race 2 - With the top ten reversed, Philip Lindberg was on pole ahead of Kevin Brandsborg. The latter stalled at the start and Lindberg made a slow launch, which allowed Mike Halder through from third on the grid straight into the lead ahead of the Audi cars of Kevin Engman and Marius Solberg Hansen. Lindberg came back at Solberg on the following lap and they both went off in contact, with Gustav Birch promoted to third. In lap 9, however, Birch locked up at the escape road, dropping to fifth and allowing both Magnussen and Sylvest by him. Halder took his first win of the season, and his first ever in an Audi, with Engman and Magnussen completing the podium, while Jensen struggled for pace, passing Michelle Halder for eighth.
Race 3 - Magnussen started from pole and led from Jensen and Sylvest. Engman made a good getaway from P5 and tried to get past Halder into Turn 1, but they made contact and Engman lost ground, while Halder kept the place. Magnussen pulled away, while Jensen spent most of the race defending against Sylvest who eventually overtook him at Turn 1 in lap 18. Jensen then slowed into retirement with a front-left puncture a lap later, promoting Halder to third.
Magnussen’s strong weekend with three podiums saw him leaping into the lead of the standings on 149 points, eight clear of Halder, with Engman in third place, four further points behind, while Jensen slipped from first to sixth.
The next event will be the Copenhagen Grand Prix on August 5/6.
Falkenberg – Race 1
1. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 18 laps
2. Jan Magnussen (Auto Lounge Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 1.003
3. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 2.733
Falkenberg – Race 2
1. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 21 laps
2. Kevin Engman (Auto Lounge Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 1.232
3. Jan Magnussen (Auto Lounge Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 6.204
Falkenberg – Race 3
1. Jan Magnussen (Auto Lounge Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 21 laps
2. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 5.089
3. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 10.499
TCR Denmark - Championship points
1. J. Magnussen, 149 pts; 2. Mk. Halder, 141; 3. K. Engman, 137
TCR Scandinavia Trophy
1. J. Magnussen, 66 pts; 2. N. Sylvest, 55; 3. Mk. Halder, 51
Picture: TCR Denmark/Stump Photo
