The first stage of the 2021 Portuguese Karting Championship has concluded, held last weekend at the International Karting Circuit of Viana do Castelo. This event marked Xavier Lázaro's official debut in the season behind the wheel of an X30 Mini category kart. In what is clearly a learning season driving for the Cabo Júnior Team (CJT) Kart Republic, the reigning champion in the Initiation category showed promising signs at the Minho karting circuit, demonstrating improvement throughout the entire weekend of the event organized by the Clube Automóvel do Minho (CAM).
At seven years old, the 'youngster' from Várzea de Sintra is gradually evolving in a new, highly competitive category, facing older and, in most cases, more experienced drivers. Step by step, in a year of learning, Xavier Lázaro successfully passed the first challenge with flying colors.
After finishing the timed practice sessions in 11th place out of 16 participants, Xavier Lázaro concluded the first qualifying heat in 14th position, later progressing to 10th place in Race 1 of the weekend. On Sunday, he was 13th in the timed session, starting from this position for the final qualifying heat, which he finished in 12th. In Race 2, he briefly held 6th place due to an excellent start, but lost some momentum towards the end. Nonetheless, he managed to secure 8th place, marking his best performance of the weekend. A positive outcome in a race where once again he exceeded expectations, demonstrating great competitive mentality and resilience.
"Once again, Xavier showed excellent attitude and a lot of competitiveness", his father and mentor, Vasco Lázaro, stated. "This track presents a different set of challenges, quite different from those encountered at the Portimão circuit. The Viana Karting Circuit is much more physically demanding, and the driver has to work hard on a highly technical track. In Portimão, due to the long straights, Xavier could rest a bit inside the kart, something that is impossible in Viana".
Contrary to what happened in the Algarve during the Final of the Portuguese Karting Cup 2020, the opening race of the Portuguese Karting Championship had rain, which further complicated the performance of 'young' Xavier.
"The rain made Xavier's task even more difficult, but that didn't take away his enormous desire to learn and improve", Vasco Lázaro stated. "But there were other factors that were also an additional challenge for him compared to Portimão. The track accumulated more rubber, became much more physical, and the final was 15 laps, much more than what he had to do in the decisive race in the Algarve. So, there were times when he broke down a bit physically, although his determination and aggressiveness sometimes disguised moments of greater difficulty. Anyway, I am very pleased with his performance because there was noticeable improvement, and it's always worth highlighting that 'Xavi' is the youngest of all, although that doesn't scare him at all", he concluded.
"This year I'm in a new category, which forces me to learn again how to drive on tracks I already know", Xavier Lázaro said. "The race this weekend was very tough, especially on Saturday with rain, but I think I managed to perform well among very strong drivers. I had a good start in the Final and ended up in 8th place, which makes me very happy. Thank you to my team and my mechanic for their support. Also, thanks to my family who is always rooting for me, and I want to express my gratitude to my sponsors as well."
