In the penultimate round of the KIA Portugal Karting Championship, at the Braga International Karting Circuit, Xavier Lázaro took a 'giant' step towards achieving his biggest sporting goal this year: to become national champion in the Initiation category. This young seven-year-old, in his third season in the KIA Portugal Karting Championship, is showing a lot of maturity on the track, translating his pace into lap times and results. Over the past weekend, at the event organized by the Clube Automóvel do Minho, driving for the Cabo Júnior Team's Birel ART/Honda, Xavier Lázaro topped the classification in all official sessions and races of the category.
Right from Saturday morning, it was clear that Xavier Lázaro was strong this weekend, with the driver from Várzea de Sintra setting the fastest time in the timed practice sessions (1m32.747), leaving his closest competitor 0.928 seconds behind.
"From the first free practice session, we noticed that Xavier was very fast and consistent"
"I spoke briefly with Xavier during race week to emphasize the importance of this weekend without putting pressure on him", confessed his father, Vasco Lázaro. "But here in the Lázaro family, as well as in the team, we soon realized that he was well prepared for this race because from the first free practice session, Xavier was always very fast and consistent. We also noticed that the engine he got in the draw was good. On Saturday, after the timed sessions, the fuel of the top three drivers in the session was checked, and that immediately reassured us and gave us confidence that, unless something very abnormal happened, the probability of him winning was very high".
On Saturday, in both qualifying heats, Xavier Lázaro led from the start and went on to win, although he was always under pressure from the second-placed driver, who was consistently Francisco Correia, his main 'rival' in the title fight. In the first qualifying heat, Lázaro finished the four laps of the race with a margin of 0.240 seconds, with an even narrower gap (0.207s) in the following race.
"Before the races, Stela and I talked to Xavier to make him understand that it was very important not to make mistakes in the qualifying heats", said Vasco Lázaro. "Winning both races on Saturday was very important since at this stage, we were also thinking about the title because he could be in a really good position at the end of this stage in Braga. But as soon as the races started, we saw that he had the right mindset, and from the moment he came out of the first corner in the lead, we were always calm".
"Risk everything in the pre-final and final, because if we want to be champions, we have to win one of them"
After having proven to be the strongest on Saturday, Xavier Lázaro didn't falter in the two important races on Sunday. Both in the Pre-Final and in the Final, his dominance was conclusive. In the Pre-Final, Xavier Lázaro won with a lead of 3.845 seconds over Francisco Correia.
"Xavier has been showing a lot of confidence and mental strength; I've been noticing it even in the most decisive moments, where he appears undisturbed", mentioned Vasco Lázaro. "With the victory in the Pre-Final, both Stela and I felt super comfortable, even knowing that there was still one more race to go this weekend".
In the Final, once again Xavier Lázaro was very focused, winning comfortably, with a 2.174-second margin over Francisco Correia, essentially 'sealing' the title in the Initiation category, with one stage left to conclude the championship.
"The victory in the Pre-Final allowed all of us to decompress, both me and Stela, Xavier's sister, and himself", Vasco Lázaro admitted. "Before the final, the only thing I asked of him was to have as much fun as possible on the track. As always, he had the right attitude, enjoyed himself but maintained the competitive posture that is part of him. It was in the final that 'Xavi' set the fastest lap of the weekend. I am very happy and proud of his performance".
Photos: @Hellofoto/Alexandre Junyor
