Xavier Lázaro had no luck today in the OKN-Junior Final, which marked the second and final round of the 2025 edition of the WSK Euro Series, an event organized by WSK Promotion. In Cremona, the Portuguese driver started the Final from 13th place and quickly moved up to ninth. He was part of a highly competitive group of 12 drivers battling for positions when he lost two spots and, shortly after — during the ninth of 15 laps — was hit by a rival. Both drivers were forced to retire from the race immediately.
An unfortunate end to the competition for the young Portuguese DR driver, who had once again shown strong performance in what is his debut season at the wheel of an OKN-Junior category kart.
To reach the Final, Xavier Lázaro began by setting the 16th fastest time in Qualifying (out of 51 drivers), then secured 11th, sixth, and 15th places in the Heats. This morning, in Pre-Final A, the young driver from Várzea de Sintra finished in sixth place after starting from 10th on the grid.
Xavier Lázaro returns to competition on Italian soil the weekend of July 11–13 for the fourth round of the ACI Sport Italian Karting Championship, also held at the Cremona Circuit.
Wrong Chassis Choice Affects Portuguese Driver’s First Day of Races
After testing in Cremona since last Thursday, including participation in the fifth round of the Coppa Italia – Zone 1 as part of his preparation, Xavier Lázaro did not go to the track this Wednesday due to a viral infection. Always very competitive and after a lot of work on the track, DR ended up selecting a chassis for the Portuguese driver with which the results were not good, impacting Qualifying (16th out of 51 participants) and the first of the three Heats in the program (11th after starting from eighth).
On Friday, the team reconsidered the chassis choice for the Portuguese driver, who immediately returned to good results, securing sixth place in the second Heat. In the final Heat he contested, Xavier Lázaro had another strong race, despite some ‘heated’ moments on track. The young DR driver crossed the finish line in eighth place but was penalized in Parc Fermé for damage to the front nose of his kart, dropping him to 15th position.
Good Performances in the Pre-Final and Final
Hoje de manhã Xavier Lázaro correu a Pré-Final A. Largando do 10º lugar, do lado de fora do traçado, o piloto português perdeu algumas posições no arranque mas logo começou o que veio a ser uma boa corrida. Para esta Pré-Final, a DR optou por enviar os seus pilotos para a pista com pneus usados, guardando os novos apenas para a Final. Ainda assim, Xavier Lázaro foi extremamente competitivo e eficaz em pista, concluindo a corrida de 15 voltas num positivo sexto lugar.
For the Final, he started from 13th position, on the inside of the track. With a good start, the Portuguese driver quickly moved up to 10th place and remained in the leading group, composed of 12 karts. On the seventh lap, an incident involving a competitor ahead of him ended up affecting the pace of the Portuguese driver's closest rivals, causing him to lose two positions at a time when he was already in ninth place. The worst moment for Xavier Lázaro came next, on the ninth lap, when the Argentine Darek Rivera (KR/Iame/VEGA) collided with him in a ‘naive’ overtaking attempt, forcing both to retire from the race.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
