Impressions from the TCR Denmark test days

The first ever official TCR Denmark test days were held at FDM Jyllandsringen earlier this week as teams and drivers prepared for the opening round of the championship later this month.

A number of experienced racers are on the grid for 2020 to compete against the next generation of touring car drivers – ranging from four-times Le Mans winner and DTC champion Jan Magnussen in an LM Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR to fresh-from-F4 Jonas Lindhardt, also in a VW but run by Lindhardt Racing.

JAS-backed Massive Motorsport will field two Honda Civic Type R TCRs for the 2019 Danish Thundersport Champion Kasper H. Jensen and DS3 Cup regular Kenn Bach.

Looking at the lap times from the two test days, they might be the drivers to watch out for.

While Jensen will be aiming directly towards the drivers title, Bach has his eyes set on the trophy for drivers over 40 years of age.

“It’s been a good test, and I think it is a good preview of where we stand,” explained Jensen to TouringCarTimes. “I may have expected more in some areas, but it is still early days and we were a bit ahead on the testing distance on Jyllandsringen to be honest.”

Magnussen is joined by Nicolai Sylvest, son of former Danish Touring Car Championship front-runner Jesper Sylvest, in LM Racing’s pair of Volkswagens.

Sylvest Jr. has spent the last three seasons in ADAC GT Masters, but is back on Danish soil for the first time since taking part in a number of DTC races in 2016. The pair spent a lot of time during the test days working on finding the optimal set-up for their cars, struggling to keep up with the Hondas of Massive Motorsport as a result.

Martin Andersen of Andersen Motorsport is driving the sole Hyundai i30 N TCR on the grid. The 2018 OK Mobil1 Supertourisme champion is back in a touring car for the first time since winning the Yokohama Super Cup with a SEAT Leon Supercopa in 2014.

The family-run team enjoyed a competitive running during the test, especially seeing Andersen matching the lap times of fastest man Kasper H. Jensen on the second day.

“I have progressed a lot these two days, but I still have some learning to do, he said. “Fortunately, we have collected a lot of data, so we are staying at it.”

Several former DTC drivers (from the Danish Touring Car Championship that ended in 2011) have found their way back to the racetracks with TCR Denmark.

One of them is Michael Carlsen, who joined the original DTC championship when it all began in 1999. Now he is back on the track behind the wheel of a Peugeot 308TCR. Despite having done a minimum of racing since 2012, Carlsen was competitive among the Trophy drivers.

Carlsen is joined by a fellow ex-DTC driver and Peugeot dealer Johnny Vejlebo. The Dane enjoyed racing against Carlsen back in the DTC era – and he is also back behind the wheel of a Peugeot 308TCR after a ten year racing hiatus.

“Actually, it’s been years since I decided that my racing career was over,” he said. “I even let my wife throw out my racing overalls and everything, but then came TCR. I really look forward to racing against a guy like Carlsen again, as he is such a genuine driver who will never pull any tricks on you – but he sure is fast.”

TCR Denmark will be the first European TCR championship to race after the global COVID-19 outbreak. The first race will be held at FDM Jyllandsringen on June 20-21th.