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Following the disastrous first round of the Danish Touringcar Championship at Jyllands-Ringen, where its two leading cars retired in a starting crash, Team Essex Invest returned to the winner's circle at Padborg Park, where Casper Elgaard won the pre-final, while John Nielsen repated the feat in the final, taking a record eight DTC win in the top races.
"I'm so pleased now, because the circuit is in my old home town region," John Nielsen said. "We are really pleased, because the opening round was so bad for us, but now our season has finally started. We really couldn't have hoped for a better start, and this is a great gift for our team, which has done a tremendous job in rebuilding the cars. They have made it possible for us to win today, and I am much gratefull for that."
But like the season-opener a fortnight ago a lot of bodywork and wheels were bent in round two of there series. It started in the pre-final, where Casper Elgaard made a perfect getaway to take the lead from Jens Edman and John Nielsen, but the latter pair clashed, as the Swede's Toyota started to slide on the circuit and John Nielsen attempted to get by. Both fell back, and thus Henrik Lundgaard and Pontus Mörth finished the pre-final second and third, the latter thus giving Volvo its best ever result in the Danish Touringcar Championship.
Jens Edman slipped further down the field, and he only got hold of the fifth place that was converted to pole position for the final, when veteran Kurt Thiim made a rare error in the penultimate corner of the race and had to drive down an escape road.
Jens Edman and John Nielsen thus started the final from the front row, and again the better starting capability of the rear wheel drive BMW saw John Nielsen romp into the lead from Jens Edman, Casper Elgaard, Henrik Lundgaard, Kurt Thiim and Martin Jensen.
As John Nielsen clearly was faster, he soon opened up a gap to the Swede, who gradually got under pressure from Casper Elgaard, who eventually rammed Jens Edman from behind in a yellow zone.
"Two races with two clashes, and both times it was the BMWs that hit me," Jens Edman said. "Casper hit me under yellow, and my car was so damaged that it was hard to drive. The wheels were pointing in four different directions, but I was glad to get some points."
Afterwards Casper Elgaard admitted that he was responsible for the incident, and later on was given a 10 second penalty, dropping him from second at the chequered flag to fourth.
"I have to apologize," Casper Elgaard said. "It happened in a yellow zone, where I would never have attempted to pass him, but my foot slid from the brake pedal, so that I rammed him. I'm sorry for that, but earlier on we also had a situation, where we touched and Edman was primarily responsible."
With the penalty added Jens Edman was awarded second place from Pontus Mörth, who thus made it two Swedes in the top three – an all time first in the Danish Touringcar Championship, which is now being led by Henrik Lundgaard, who had taken second place in the pre-final.
Short facts: The third round of the Danish Touringcar Championship will take place at Jyllands-Ringen on June 6th. • While Kurt Thiim didn't get into the top 10 in either the pre-final nor the final, he still left Padborg Park as a happy man. Son Nicki Thiim was a very convincing winner of the two Formula Ford 1800 races, the 15-year old newcomer beating Mark Kamstrup in race one and Christian Jørgensen in race two. • Circuit owner Jens Enemark took a win in Sunday's second race for the Fleggaard Renault Clio Cup, thus extending his lead in the championship. The first race was won by former single seater star Tommy Schröter. • Jimmy Jacobsson utterly dominated the Formula Renault class at Padborg Park, taking wins in all three races for the wings-and-slicks series.
Result of race 1 – pre-final of round 2 of 8 – Padborg Park – 10 laps of 2.150 kms:
1. Casper Elgaard Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 10.55,360
2. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 10.57,971
3. Pontus Mörth Volvo Motorsport Danmark Volvo S60 10.59,181
4. John Nielsen Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 10.59,688
5. Jens Edman Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 11.05,104
6. Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 11.05,336
7. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 11.13,213
8. Philip Andersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 11.14,169
9. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 11.15,757
10. Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 11.17,799
Fastest lap: John Nielsen, 1.03,180 / 122,507 km/t (new lap record).
Result of race 2 – final of round 2 of 8 – Padborg Park – 14 laps of 2.150 kms:
1. John Nielsen Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 15.15,688
2. Jens Edman Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 15.23,974
3. Pontus Mörth Volvo Motorsport Danmark Volvo S60 15.24,505
4. Casper Elgaard Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 15.26,362
5. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 15.27,722
6. Jason Watt Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 15.28,357
7. Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 15.29,386
8. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 15.33,024
9. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 15.33,555
10. Tom Pedersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 15.35,889
Fastest lap: Jens Edman, 1.03,122 / 122,620 km/t (new lap record).
Championship positions - drivers:
1. Henrik Lundgaard Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 60 p.
2. Martin Jensen Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 51 p.
3. Michel Nykjær Seat Racing Team Seat Toledo 48 p.
Jens Edman Toyota Castrol Racing Toyota Corolla T-Sport 48 p.
5. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 40 p.
6. Pontus Mörth Volvo Motorsport Danmark Volvo S60 38 p.
7. Casper Elgaard Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 33 p.
John Nielsen Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 33 p.
9. Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 26 p.
10. Kurt Thiim Renault Sport Renault Megane Sports Hatch 22 p.
11. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 20 p.
12. Tom Pedersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 16 p.
13. Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 15 p.
14. Michael Schröter Team Volkswagen Castrol Volkswagen Golf GTI 14 p.
15. Carsten Leveau Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 10 p.
Jason Watt Peugeot Statoil Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 10 p.
17. Philip Andersen K-motorsport Honda Civic Type-R 8 p.
18. Gunnar Kristensen Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 7 p.
19. John Hansen JHI ATS Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156 4 p.
20. Martin Pedersen Team Peugeot DTC Køge Peugeot 406 Coupé 2 p.
Privateers DTC Cup:
1. Mike Legarth Connection Racing BMW 320i E46 80 p.
2. Michael Carlsen Carlsen BP Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 61 p.
3. Jens Møller Team Essex Invest BMW 320i E46 43 p.
Jesper Sylvest Sylvest Motorsport Peugeot 307 GTI 43 p.
5. Michael Schröter Team Volkswagen Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI 36 p.
6. Carsten Leveau Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 28 p.
7. John Hansen JHI ATS Motorsport Alfa Romeo 156 23 p.
8. Gunnar Kristensen Team Sturup Raceway BMW 320i E46 22 p.
9. Martin Pedersen Team Peugeot DTC Køge Peugeot 406 Coupé 11 p.
Championship positions - teams:
1. Toyota Castrol Racing 108 p.
2. Team Essex Invest 66 p.
3. Peugeot Statoil Motorsport 61 p.
4. Seat Racing Team 48 p.
5. Connection Racing 40 p.
6. Volvo Motorsport Danmark 38 p.
7. Carlsen BP Motorsport 26 p.
8. K-motorsport 24 p.
9. Renault Sport 23 p.
10. Team Sturup Raceway 17 p.
11. Sylvest Motorsport 16 p.
12. Team Volkswagen/Castrol 14 p.
13. JHI ATS Motorsport 4 p.
14. Team Peugeot DTC Køge 2 p.