Round 6 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium once again saw a promising start for the MIM-contracted driver Lirim Zendeli, but he eventually finished in twelfth place.

In perfect weather conditions, the young German got off to a great start from P13 on the grid and was able to make up a number of positions already in the early stages, moving into tenth place. Lirim made further progress in the mid-field during the 12-lap race, which was interrupted by the Safety Car, to move up into P9, but such is the rough-and-tumble nature of Porsche Supercup racing that he was again hit with a 5 second penalty by the Stewards post-race for exceeding the track limits, a sanction that dropped him down to thirteenth place after the chequered flag. A position which then became P12 when the infractions were reviewed and when the final classification was published after Freymuth was also penalized.

“It was a great start again, I think I know how to start with this car now so well that I can gain a position or two, but then I made a mistake into turn 5,” declared Lirim. “However, I need to work on my race pace, we are lacking a bit there and then for me it was the track limits again. Honestly I don’t think I exceeded them more than any other drivers, so maybe my car is too bright and eye-catching! I think I did everything right to not get a penalty, but I have to accept the decision. I also think I did a good job in fighting and gaining some positions, but when you’re more in the mid-field and fighting with people, I think you’re going to exceed the track limits more, especially in this race where I had a bit of a damaged car.”

Lirim can now have a four-week break before the last two rounds of the Supercup at Zandvoort (Netherlands) and Monza (Italy) in the final two weekends of August.