Rytter and Sylvest are winners at Djursland overtaking show
Nicolai Sylvest won the opening race of TCR Denmark at Ring Djursland, while Silas Rytter followed that up with his first and second ever wins in TCR competition. It was former points leader Jan Magnussen who put on a show for the fans however, as he ended up having to drive through the entire field twice.
Race 1 - Sylvest had placed his CUPRA on pole position after Saturday’s qualifying just 0.006 seconds ahead of Kevin Engman’s Audi. Jan Magnussen was unable to set a time due to a technical issue and started from 20th and last. Sylvest got away well from pole position, while Engman initially held second before he was sentenced to a penalty lap for jumping the start. This dropped him behind the Honda of Kasper H. Jensen, who’d swapped with his team-mate Birch at the first corner. By the time Engman served his penalty, Sylvest had built a comfortable margin and was pulling away from Jensen. All eyes were on Magnussen however, who was scything his way through the field. The first driver to offer some resistance was Michelle Halder, who managed to hold him back for four laps before he got past her. Magnussen would pass both Michael Markussen and Phillip Lindberg for seventh before the finish, while up front Sylvest won ahead of Jensen and Engman.
Race 2 - The top ten were reversed, but Magnussen wasn’t able to take up the very favourable fourth place where he should have started, after his CUPRA was found to not have enough fuel left for the post-race checks and he was disqualified, which meant he had to start from last place and do it all again. Marius Solberg Hansen started from pole in his Audi ahead of Michelle Halder’s Honda, but Halder was quickly under threat from Markussen’s CUPRA, who passed her at Turn 4 with Rytter following him through into third. The two drivers soon passed Hansen and began to pull away, before Rytter was able to snatch the lead from Markussen with a decisive move at Turn 6 on lap ten and cruise on to win in the only Hyundai in the field. Mike Halder had swapped with sister Michelle early on and went on to finish fourth, while Michelle fought hard to hold on to fifth place, despite the heavy-hitting trio of Jensen, Sylvest, and the recovering Magnussen right on her tail until the chequered flag.
Race 3 - Rytter started from pole ahead of Sylvest based on points scored so far, and while Sylvest tried to go side-by-side with Rytter for the lead at the start, he fell behind Jensen’s Honda, which told the eventual story of his race. Magnussen was making quick progress after starting 11th and picked his way past seven cars in seven laps, before joining the battle for second between Jensen and Sylvest. Meanwhile, Rytter had built a healthy lead, while Sylvest was unable to find a way past Jensen, nor Magnussen a way past Sylvest. Rytter held on to win his second race in a row, with Jensen and Sylvest completing the podium.
A high-scoring weekend for Jensen sees the champion move into the lead of the standings on 91 points, just one ahead of Engman and Halder who are tied on 90, with Markussen and Magnussen tied for fourth on 83 – one point ahead of the series’ newest winner Rytter.
The championship will move to Sweden for the next event, at Falkenberg on July 8/9.
Djursland – Race 1
1. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 19 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 5.376
3. Kevin Engman (Auto Lounge Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 57.173
Djursland – Race 2
1. Silas Rytter (Insight Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 18 laps
2. Michael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 2.610
3. Marius Solberg Hansen (Auto Lounge Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 5.382
Djursland – Race 3
1. Silas Rytter (Insight Racing, Hyundai i30 N), 19 laps
2. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 3.562
3. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 4.067
Championship points
1. KH. Jensen, 91; 2. K. Engman, 90; 3. Mk. Halder, 90
Picture: TCR Denmark/Stump Photo
