DTC: The Jyllands-Ring Results

Sunday was a good day, if your first name was Michael and you were in Denmark. That is the conclusion following today's opening round of the Danish Touringcar Challenge at the Jyllands- Ring, where the best of the country's international drivers meet up with the locals. And it was indeed the locals who came out on top, as last year's championship runner-up, Michael Carlsen, won the final after having come second in the qualification race in which he had started from pole position. "I have got a new gearbox for my Peugeot this year, and I have not really got used to making starts with it," Carlsen explained. At the start of the qualification race, the BP backed driver fell to fourth place behind Michael Schröter, John Nielsen and Jesper Sylvest. The latter soon had to concede his place to Carlsen, who made up another position, when Schröter spun from the lead. "I don't know whether there actually was an oil flag. Anyway, I did not realize anything before I spun in the oil," a disapointed Schröter said, having to continue the race down in ninth place. Having inherited second place Michael Carlsen nevertheless managed to close the gap to John Nielsen's McDonald's Nissan, but even though he pushed him hard, he could not get past the former Le Mans winner. At the start of the final Michael Carlsen once again made a tardy start, and thus last year's champion Jesper Sylvest took up the position as challenger to the leading John Nielsen. But it did not last long before Carlsen got in touch with Sylvest, and at the so-called "horseshoe" section of the circuit (a double right-hand corner) he swept by. Slowly, but surely Carlsen now closed the gap to John Nielsen, with whom he got into contact a couple of laps later. At the end of the short straight he made his first attempt to pass Nielsen, and indeed he succeeded. John Nielsen stuck onto the tail of Michael Carlsen's Peugeot 306, whom he shadowed for the rest of the final. "I had expected that I would get another chance to come back in front later in the race, but even though he was running at a fast and constant pace, Michael was doing just as well, so I never really got the chance to pass him," Nielsen explained. A few hour later, however, John Nielsen's Nissan was found to be too light to observe the rules of the Danish Touringcar Challenge, which dictate that the cars must weight 5.5 kilos for every horsepower. Thus, second place went Michael Schröter's way, which was richly deserved, as he spent the final to fight past Allan Bjerregaard, the Legarth brothers of Mike and Pierre as well as Jesper Sylvest. The latter took third place – a position he was very pleased with. "I am very happy to come third," Sylvest commented, "as my Citroën is not only brand-new, but is also still lacking the right gearbox and the right suspension parts. But these items are on their way, so soon the car will be really fast." Generally, the luck was not on the side of the international drivers at the premiere of the Danish Touringcar Challenge. Jan Magnussen decided not to race, when he could not get a proper gearbox for his Peugeot 306, while former Formula Renault driver, Casper Elgaard, also opted to stay in the pits, when the electronics of his Renault Megane Wagon prevented him to exceed 6,000 rpm. In the races former DTM star Kurt Thiim retired with technical problems, while Thorkild Thyrring was excluded following a jumped start.

<pre> Result - Round 1 Qualification race:

1. John Nielsen         McDonald's Nissan Racing        Nissan Primera          10.18,311
2. Michael Carlsen      Michael Carlsen Motorsport      Peugeot 306 GTI         10.18,621
3. Jesper Sylvest       Sylvest Motorsport              Citroën Xsara Coupé VTS 10.23,652
4. Mike Legarth         Legarth Racing                  BMW 320i                10.25,879
5. Pierre Legarth       Peugeot Sport Team              Peugeot 406 Coupé       10.26,947
6. Kurt Thiim           High Class Racing               VW Beetle               10.29,842
7. Michael Schröter     Michael Schröter                VW Golf GTI             10.30,320
8. Jørgen Poulsen       S40 Racing                      Volvo S40               10.39,567
9. Kent Bo Steffensen   S40 Racing                      Volvo S40               10.40,179
10. Allan Bjerregaard   Allan Bjerregaard               Ford Focus              10.44,397

Fastest lap: Schröter, 50,314s, 65.579 mph.

Result Round 1 - Final:

1. Michael Carlsen      Michael Carlsen Motorsport      Peugeot 306 GTI         17.00,322
2. Michael Schröter     Michael Schröter                VW Golf GTI             17.04,681
3. Jesper Sylvest       Sylvest Motorsport              Citroën Xsara Coupé VTS 17.08,358
4. Carsten Leveau       Team Brask Racing               Peugeot 306 GTI         17.13,261
5. Mike Legarth         Legarth Racing                  BMW 320i                17.25,171
6. Klaus Madsen         Team Braks Racing               Peugeot 306 GTI         17.35,040
7. Peter Rasmussen      VHA Racing Team                 Fiat Coupé              17.41,891
8. Jørgen Poulsen       S40 Racing                      Volvo S40               17.50,275
9. Allan Bjerregaard    Allan Bjerregaard               Ford Focus              -9 laps

Fastest lap: Schröter, 50,380s, 65,494 mph.

Championship positions:

1. Michael Carlsen      Michael Carlsen Motorsport      Peugeot 306 GTI         27,5 p.
2. Jesper Sylvest       Sylvest Motorsport              Citroën Xsara Coupé VTS 18,0 p.
3. Michael Schröter     Michael Schröter                VW Golf GTI             17,0 p.
4. Mike Legarth         Legarth Racing                  BMW 320i                13,0 p.
5. John Nielsen         McDonald's Nissan Racing        Nissan Primera          10,0 p.
   Carsten Leveau       Team Brask Racing               Peugeot 306 GTI         10,0 p.
7. Klaus Madsen         Team Brask Racing               Peugeot 306 GTI          6,0 p.
8. Jørgen Poulsen       S40 Racing                      Volvo S40                4,5 p.
9. Pierre Legarth       Peugeot Sport Team              Peugeot 406 Coupé        4,0 p.
   Peter Rasmussen      VHA Racing Team                 Fiat Coupé               4,0 p.

Next round: May 28th, Ring Djursland (DK) round 2 of 8.

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