PODIUM FINISH FOR ZENDELI AFTER ACTION-PACKED PCCI RACE AT VALLELUNGA

Sep 21, 2024

Monaco Increase Management’s Lirim Zendeli (Ombra Racing) earned himself a well-deserved P3 podium finish at the end of an action-packed Porsche Carrera Cup Italia race at the Vallelunga circuit after dropping to P6 from the front of the field following a chaotic opening lap.

Poleman Larry Ten Voorde (Enrico Fulgenzi Racing) stalled on the line and was passed by Janne Stiak (Target Competition), Francesco Braschi (Dinamic Motorsport) and Zendeli, while Ten Voorde accompanied Marvin Klein (Target) onto the grass, a manoeuvre for which the Dutch driver, first on the road, was penalized 10 seconds.

Lirim had a great opportunity to go through into the lead as they came back from the far side of the circuit, but he got caught up in the heat of all the action and slipped back as Ten Voorde was back in front by the end of the opening lap.

Then on lap 2, fourth-placed Braschi tried to pass Lirim at the Roma curve, but he touched the rear of the German’s Porsche and pushed him wide, which caused him to lose three places. The positions remained the same until ten minutes from the end when the safety car came out until the end of the race. With only one lap remaining until the chequered flag, Lirim tried everything to pass Bayley Hall but eventually finished sixth on the road.
Time penalties were then handed out by race control for various infractions a couple of hours after the 30-minute race had finished, to winner Ten Voorde, to Braschi in second and Stiak in third, all of which bumped Lirim up three places for another podium finish in his debut GT season.

“As usual I got a good start, and it was a fantastic first lap,” declared Lirim immediately after the race but before the penalties were dropped. “I was almost getting into P1, but I dialled it back a bit, because I was very fast on the first lap and didn’t want to overdo it. Then I got touched by Braschi at the Roma and lost three positions, basically this is where I lost the podium for something out of my control. It was just a stupid move by him, to be completely honest. On the last lap, I really tried to get past Hall, but he just needed to defend a couple of corners and in the last sector you can’t really do anything except with a super move.”

Tomorrow’s second Carrera Cup Italia race of the weekend at Vallelunga, in which Lirim will again start from P4 on the grid – but this time with Braschi behind him – gets the green light at 11.30 in the morning.