ZENDELI MAKES IT BETTER: P2 IN TORONTO’S SECOND USF PRO 2000 RACE!

Jul 16, 2023

Monaco Increase Management driver Lirim Zendeli came out of the only non-American round of the USF Pro 2000 series with a double podium finish. After finishing third in the Saturday event on the 2.87 Km Toronto Street Circuit around the Exhibition Center, the German-Albanian driver further improved his points tally and championship position by taking second place finish behind series leader Myles Rowe. A strong result for Zendeli, MIM and TJ Speed Motorsports as the #10 series rookie built it from P5 on the grid, being able to avoid all the threats that such a circuit poses to drivers.

Shortly after the rolling start of the 25-laps event on a misty Canadian Sunday morning (late afternoon in Europe) the safety car was out for an accident involving Zendeli’s team mate Christian Weir. By that time, Lirim was already running fifth and battling with Brooks. The race was restarted on Lap 5 and shortly thereafter Denmark ran straight and had to come back to the pits for a new front wing, allowing Zendeli to slip into the fourth slot of the classification. Zendeli’s strong pace did not keep him safe from Jordan Missig’s charge from behind though, so the soon a three-car battle developed involving Brooks, Zendeli and Missig. Lirim kept a cold head and made his move on lap sixteen between turns 5 and 6, at the same time snatching the position away from Brooks and protecting himself from Missig’s attacks. Once in P3, the Albanian descent driver was able to pull a decent gap, while ahead of him D’Orlando suddenly lost pace and slipped back through the field. After inheriting the runner-up position, Zendeli did reduce his gap to the race leader to 4.4 secs but Rowe was clearly to far away to try and fight for the lead. Nevertheless, the MIM driver is more than happy with his fourth podium finish this year (including a win) and is clearly setting in well with the American way of racing as the series prepares for the next round at the end of August on the iconic COTA circuit in Austin, Texas.