Xavier Lázaro finished today in the 10th position in the Mini Sub 10 category, in the Final of the 3rd stage of the WSK Super Master Series, held at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Italy. The Portuguese driver completed his second race behind the wheel of the Gillard from SM Racing in a highly commendable manner, showing that he is increasingly adapting to the kart of the British team.
In Franciacorta, Xavier Lázaro showed throughout the weekend that he was quite competitive and among the fastest in the Mini Sub 10 category. After securing the overall best time in the official free practice sessions with a lap of 53.866 seconds, the Portuguese driver did not see his true speed reflected in the Qualifying session. He was one of many adversely affected by a strange maneuver from an opponent that blocked the entire field at the moment of setting the best lap. As a result, Xavier Lázaro could only achieve the 10th best time in his series, ranking 20th overall.
As a consequence of a poor Qualifying session, Xavier Lázaro started the three Heats from the 10th position, a challenging position in itself, further complicated by placing the young driver from Várzea de Sintra on the outside of the track.
Despite being in a challenging situation, Xavier Lázaro had a good start in Heat 1, immediately gaining several positions. However, at the end of the first lap, he made a mistake, 'overshooting' the braking at the end of a fast section and dropping down in the standings. Throughout the eight laps of the race, he managed to somewhat compensate for the error, recovering positions to finish in 18th place. The 10-year-old had his best performance in Heat 2. Starting from 10th, he was proactive and efficient, consistently moving up through the field to finish the race in seventh place. Misfortune struck in Heat 3, where despite another good start, Xavier Lázaro was involved in an accident with several karts, leading to him retiring from the race in the first lap.
Without Margin for Error in the Pre-Final and With Determination in the Final
In the sum of points from the three Heats, the situation was not easy for Xavier Lázaro. The Portuguese driver started the Pre-Final A in 19th place, aware that he needed a good result to secure a spot in the decisive race. Handling the pressure well, the young SM Racing driver had one of his best performances of the weekend, in a race without mistakes that ultimately finished in seventh place.
Despite the good performance in the Pre-Final, the points obtained by Xavier Lázaro in the Heats also influenced his starting position for the Final of the Mini Sub 10. The SM Racing driver started from the 27th position. With determination and a lot of grit, Xavier Lázaro had a nearly perfect first lap, gaining 12 positions. Despite being forced to make some challenging decisions for overtaking, the Portuguese driver managed to gain a few more places by the end of a race where he secured a remarkable top 10. In the Final of a highly competitive category with a total of 63 participants in Franciacorta, gaining 17 positions in a race that only has eight laps is truly an exceptional achievement.
"I am becoming more and more comfortable behind the wheel of the Gillard, and I am feeling increasingly confident", said Xavier Lázaro in the end. "It was a pity that I had to retire from one of the Heats, which affected me both in the Pre-Final and the Final. Nevertheless, I gave my best to try to reach the front as much as possible. Once again, I want to thank the effort and dedication of everyone at SM Racing. We are all working hard, and I am increasingly well-prepared and competitive", concluded the driver from Várzea de Sintra.
In the next week, Xavier Lázaro will be in Sarno to continue the competitive program with SM Racing, which includes many kilometers of testing and training. Additionally, he will start preparing for the next and final stage of the WSK Super Master Series, scheduled from February 28 to March 2 at the circuit near Naples, always hosted by WSK Promotion.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
