DTC. Thompson absent. Thanks to Poulsen the Hartmann and HRS’ Honda wins and remains at the top.

Run on the twisty path of Ring Djursland over the weekend of the 12th and the 13th September, the penultimate round of the Danish Touring Car Championship (DTC) could have been rather tricky for James Thompson, top driver of the Hartmann Racing Honda Team, absent because of concurrent commitments in the Australian V8 and thus unable to defend his championship’s leadership directly from the comeback attempts of his closest rivals.

By contrast, under the circumstances, Lundgaard and Nykjaer, official drivers of the Chevrolet Lacetti failed to make use of that tempting opportunity losing places and points relevant to attack the top of the absolute rankings. For sure, the rankings have been reduced a lot, with 4 drivers fighting for the "crown" within a range of only 14 points, especially with the "return" of the BMW 320si’s driven by the fast Jan Magnussen who powerfully puts himself behind the leading drivers through two wins and one second place. However the most important thing is that Thompson, with just one round behind and three races to be run, starts still at the top, moreover being able to rely on a Honda Accord made extremely fast and competitive by Hexathron.

The best example of how the white Japanese saloon cars managed by Hartmann Racing are at the top in terms of performances came from the Independent driver Poulsen who spent an enchanting weekend: 5th in Race 1, winner in Race 2 and 4th in the final race. He was fast and profitable as never before, returning at the top of the "independent" results (6th overall) with the significant advantage of 22 points over the Seat Leon of Møller, the only claimant who remains to the title.

Very positive notes came also from the "Boss" of the team, Hans Hartmann who, trying now and then the cockpit of the Honda usually used by Thompson, collected a 10th, a 7th and 8th place respectively, remaining really enthusiastic about the performances shown during this season by the Honda Accord evolved by Hexathron especially if they are compared to the level of competitiveness shown before.

Now everything depends on the final appointment of Jyllandsringen on the 3rd and the 4th October, with Thompson (back from the WTCC’s round of Imola with the official Lada Priora managed by Hexathron) more than ever determined to realize a successful outcome built through continuous improvements in all the phases of the DTC 2009.