Xavier Lázaro spent a significant part of the week that ends today in Italy, preparing for and participating in his first international competitive event, the 2021 edition of the WSK Final Cup. At the Adria Karting Raceway, the Portuguese driver faced a grand scenario, interacting and competing on the track with the best in the world in the Mini category, with a total of 126 registered drivers.
With the aim of learning to navigate in an extremely competitive scenario, quite different from what he is accustomed to in the Portuguese Karting Championship, Xavier Lázaro had a well-thought-out mission for every day he took to the track. He sought to extract as much information as possible from the training sessions and the various qualifying heats that would determine the selected participants for the Mini Pre-Finals and Final.
Behind the wheel of an official DR kart within Danilo Rossi's structure, the eight-year-old youngster took his mission to the extreme, progressing in the training sessions and managing to be efficient in the challenging task of completing all the qualifying heats he participated in.
Lack of Experience Affected Performance in Timed Practice Sessions
With the free practice sessions unfolding at a frenetic pace, everything became much faster in the usual hustle surrounding Xavier Lázaro on a race weekend. The Várzea de Sintra driver showed improvement in his performance during the free sessions in Adria but ended up paying a bit for his lack of experience in the Qualifying session. Unable to catch the crucial 'draft,' he could only manage the 109th time, with his lap time of 55.734s leaving him distant from the pole position (54.213s).
“"Everything is new for Xavier here",the father, Vasco Lázaro, stated. "He was trying to find someone to follow, and when he finally did, they stopped shortly after because the session had ended".
Excellent Performance In the Races
Where the Várzea de Sintra driver truly excelled was in the qualifying heats. In all six races he competed in, Xavier Lázaro finished, and almost always in a better position than his starting position. Only in the final qualifying heat on Thursday did the DR driver lose places, finishing in 32nd with a damaged nose after being unable to avoid contact with the driver in front when they braked hard.
On the first day of races, Xavier Lázaro started the three qualifying heats below the top 30. In the first race, he moved up from 31st to 28th, and in the next one, starting from 32nd, he performed even better, finishing in 27th. Only in the final race of this first day did things not go as well for the Portuguese driver: starting in 31st, he finished in 32nd. It's worth mentioning that, following the contact that damaged his nose, Xavier dropped to last place and still managed to recover to 32nd.
In Saturday's qualifying heats, the Portuguese driver maintained his consistency and delivered a very positive performance. In the first race of the day, he started from 32nd, gained four positions, and finished in 28th. The second race of the day didn't go as well; starting from 32nd, he ended up in 33rd. In his final performance of this WSK Final Cup weekend, Xavier Lázaro finished 28th, moving up from 31st place.
Mission accomplished in a learning event and exploration of an entirely new world, where the Portuguese driver approached with humility and never ceased to impress with his determination and talent, despite being younger than many of the other drivers in the Mini category.
"I am very pleased with Xavier's performance", said Vasco Lázaro at the end. "He arrived in a completely different reality and never got frustrated on the track. He was always attentive and followed the team's instructions to the letter, and they welcomed us very well, immediately integrating us into their structure. I leave here very satisfied, on all levels".
Happiness and a sense of accomplishment were also evident in the words of the young Portuguese driver. "It was really great to come here to Italy and be on the track with the best in the world", proud Xavier Lázaro stated. "I want to thank Danilo Rossi and everyone at DR for the way they welcomed me and gave me all the attention during these days. It was great to feel this warmth and the dedication with which everyone worked and helped me".
In this competition, the Portuguese Maria Germano was also part of the official DR team structure. The strength of having a teammate from the same country and the way the two Portuguese drivers got along from the beginning were assets for Xavier Lázaro during this weekend. "It was really good on this first international appearance, where everything is new to me, to have a teammate with whom I speak the same language. Maria was another important support, and we got along well from the beginning".
Photos: PH24
