Malte Ebdrup completes lights to flag win in Jyllandsringen opener
Malte Ebdrup claimed a decisive lights to flag win in the first TCR Denmark race of the weekend at Jyllandsringen, beating rival Honda driver Mike Halder by three seconds.
The Mascot Motorsport driver started from pole position and made a strong start from which he never looked back.
René Povlsen jumped the lights and was handed a penalty round which saw him drop down to finish sixth.
The race was fairly static, although championship returnee Jan Magnussen provided an entertaining fight for the final podium position with reigning champion Kasper Jensen.
The former F1 driver harrowed Jensen for a couple of laps during the opening stages before making a move at Turn 4 to snatch third.
Povlsen made contact with Lars Højris while fighting for the AM category lead and fifth place overall, sending Højris into a half spin and down to sixth place. The duo switched places before the chequered flag, with Højris finishing fifth and Povlsen sixth.
Ebdrup crossed the finishing line first, three seconds ahead of Halder and close to 12 seconds ahead of Magnussen. Jensen was even further behind in fourth place, close to 19 seconds from his team-mate.
Disaster struck the sole non-Honda driver Marco Dahl as his Hyundai failed to get away from the grid to the formation lap, meaning that the entire eight-car field consisted of Hondas.
The second race of the weekend starts at 14:56 CEST.
