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Several potential winners were eliminated in first corner crash
The 2004 season in the Danish Touringcar Championship litterally started with a big bang on Sunday at Jyllands-Ringen. Barely a few seconds after the lights had turned green for the first race of the year, the red flags were brought out following total mayhem, which blocked the circuit at the very first corner.
Pole sitter Pontus Mörth made a tardy getaway in his Volvo S60, which was engulfed by the fast-starting Team Essex Invest BMWs of Casper Elgaard and John Nielsen. As the 19 car field reached the first corner contact was made between the cars of Mörth and Nielsen.
”As ususal the BMWs were very fast at the start and both Casper and John got alongside me, and then John just went into the side of me, while Casper was on the inside,” Pontus Mörth said after having secured the second ever pole position for Volvo. “I really could do nothing, and having seen the situation on TV afterwards, you will see that my car is pointing in a straight direction all the time.”
The rivaling Team Essex Invest had a different view on the collision that elimated the team’s two fastest cars.
”I have yet to see the situation on TV, but I believe that Mörth is touching me so that I get sideways which causes the mayhem,” John Nielsen said. “It is a chain reaction. A minor thing that turns into a big thing, but it is probably the blackest weekend we have had, but so is motor racing, and it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”
At the re-start the two Toyota Corollas of Jens Edman and Henrik Lundgaard were untouchable and sailed away into the distance, the team’s Swedish newcomer taking the first win of the season. As former DTC champion Jason Watt had to start from the pit for the re-start and eventually retiring with a broken front suspension, it was Martin Jensen who became top Peugeot driver, taking his damaged and tyre smoking 307 to third place ahead of Michel Nykjær.
The latter driver had started the race down in eighth position, but had steadily moved up through the field. Midway through the pre-final he had a hard and long battle with reigning Scandinavian Formula Renault Champion Tom Pedersen, but the series newcomer eventually had to hand over fifth place to the Seat driver who also took fourth place from top privateer Mike Legarth on the very last lap.
The positions of the top five drivers were reversed for the final, and thus Mike Legarth found himself on pole position. However, the BMW driver was soon under severe pressure from Martin Jensen, and just as the latter tried a passing attempt in the first corner on lap 2, both were outbraked by a flying Michel Nykjær.
“There was a gap and I could also see that Martin was busy outbraking Mike, so I took the chance and just tried. It was wonderfull,” the Seat Toledo driver. His main worry ended up being Jens Edman, who took second place from Martin Jensen following a third of the race. But the Toyota driver did not see the chequered flag, as his engine broke with a few laps to go, leaving Martin Jensen to retake second from Henrik Lundgaard.
But at the front Michel Nykjær sailed on to take the second final win of his short DTC career, which last year made him the series’ youngest race winner in a wet August race.
“I have had success in the wet, but I have never achieved a good result in the try. It is just amazing to win,” the Seat Toledo driver said.
Result of race 1 – pre-final of round 1 of 8 – Jyllands-Ringen – 10 laps of 2.300 kms:
1. Jens Edman Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 12.24,290
2. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 12.25,734
3. Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 12.27,329
4. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 12.32,244
5. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 12.33,807
6. Tom Pedersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 12.35,895
7. Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 12.36,257
8. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 12.41,434
9. Gunnar Kristensen Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 12.46,831
10. Kurt Thiim Renault Sport Renault Megane Sports Hatch 12.46,993
Fastest lap:
Result of race 2 –final of round 1 of 8 – Jyllands-Ringen – 14 laps of 2.300 kms:
1. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 17.12,053
2. Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 17.14,074
3. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 17.19,261
4. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 17.25,620
5. Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 17.25,982
6. Kurt Thiim Renault Sport Renault Megane Sports Hatch 17.29,388
7. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 17.36,466
8. Pontus Mörth Volvo Motorsport Danmark Volvo S60 17.39,655
9. Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 18.06,131
10. Carsten Leveau Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 18.18,051
Championship positions:
1. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 33 p.
2. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 32 p.
Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 32 p.
4. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 24 p.
5. Jens Edman Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 20 p.
Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 20 p.
7. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 17 p.
8. Kurt Thiim Renault Sport Renault Megane Sports Hatch 16 p.
9. Tom Pedersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 10 p.
Carsten Leveau Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 10 p.
Michael Schröter Team Volkswagen/Castrol Volkswagen Golf GTI 10 p.
12. Pontus Mörth Volvo Motorsport Danmark Volvo S60 8 p.
13. Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 7 p.
Gunnar Kristensen Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 7 p.
DTC Cup for privateers:
1. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 40 p.
2. Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 34 p.
3. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 30 p.
4. Carsten Leveau Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 21 p.
Michael Schröter Team Volkswagen/Castrol Volkswagen Golf GTI 21 p.
6. Gunnar Kristensen Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 13 p.
Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 13 p.
Team’s championship:
1. Toyota Castrol Racing 52 p.
2. Seat Racing Team 33 p.
3. Peugeot Statoil Motorsport 32 p.
4. Connection Racing 24 p.
5. Carlsen BP Motorsport 20 p.
6. Team Sturup Raceway 17 p.
7. Renault Sport 16 p.
8. K-motorsport 10 p.
Team Volkswagen/Castrol 10 p.
10. Volvo Motorsport Danmark 8 p.
11. Sylvest Motorsport 7 p.