Sylvest is the new points leader after Copenhagen crashfest

Kasper H. Jensen, Nicolai Sylvest, and Michael Markussen were the race winners at a damaging weekend for many competitors at Bellahøj Park, the street circuit which hosted the Copenhagen Grand Prix round of TCR Denmark.

Sylvest and Markussen have moved into first and second in the standings, on equal points, with Mike Halder and Jan Magnussen follow in third and fourth positions, two and five points behind respectively.

Race 1 – From the pole position, Jensen led the way at the start, while Markussen dropped behind Magnussen and Halder. The race was soon red-flagged when Philip Lindberg crashed at the Teknicar bend and was collected by Michelle Halder. The track was blocked, and the race had to be stopped. Both drivers were unharmed, but their Honda cars were so badly damaged they would take no further part in the weekend. When the race restarted, Jensen went on to take the win ahead of Magnussen, while Halder was holding off Markussen for the final spot on the podium.

Race 2 – The top six were reversed on the grid, with Kevin Brandsborg on pole ahead of Gustav Birch and Markussen who had a great start and passed Birch into Turn 1. Markussen was lining up a pass on Brandsborg into Turn 2, while there was chaos behind as the top three in the championship, Jensen, Magnussen, and Halder, all came together as Magnussen dived down the inside of Jensen while Halder was on the outside, with Magnussen also clipping Birch into a spin. This put Sylvest up to third and he closed up to the leading pair, while Magnussen was out of the race with a broken front-right upright. Jensen would retire later in the race with an overheating car, leaving Halder to pick up the spoils with a recovery to sixth place. Brandsborg tried to retake the lead from Markussen on lap three, but ended up being nudged into the barriers, handing the spot to Sylvest, who immediately passed Markussen and began to build a gap. Sylvest extended this to over ten seconds at the finish, with Birch completing the podium.

Race 3 – The final race proved to be chaotic, with Markussen starting on pole ahead of Sylvest and Birch. At the start, Birch fell behind Jensen and Halder, while on lap two, the Audi of Marius Solberg Hansen clipped the wall and bounced across into the outside wall where it was collected by Lars Højris’ CUPRA as well as his own teammate Christian Skaar. The race was red-flagged and at the restart, Sylvest again tried to get around Markussen into Turn 1 but didn’t succeed, while Jensen passed Birch around the outside at Turn 2 but nearly hit the wall. Birch was quickly passed by Halder, but the German driver couldn’t keep up with the leading trio. Markussen managed to hold off Sylvest to the finish, with Sylvest having to fight a defensive race to keep Jensen behind him for second place. 

The series will return to Jyllandsringen in two weeks’ time.

Copenhagen – Race 1

1. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 8 laps

2. Jan Magnussen (Auto Lounge Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 0.965

3. Mike Halder (TPR Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 6.220

Copenhagen – Race 2

1. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 15 laps

2. Michael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 11.332

3. Gustav Birch (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 17.220

Copenhagen – Race 3

1. Michael Markussen (Markussen Racing, CUPRA Leon Competición), 14 laps

2. Nicolai Sylvest (Green Development, CUPRA Leon Competición), 0.495

3. Kasper H. Jensen (GMB Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 0.913

TCR Denmark - Championship points

1. N. Sylvest, 189 pts; 2. M. Markussen, 189; 3. M. Halder, 187

Picture: TCR Denmark/Stump Photo