Xavier Lázaro competed this weekend in the fourth round of the ACI Sport Italian Karting Championship, at the Cremona Circuit. Delivering his best performance of the season so far in the OKN-Junior category, Xavier Lázaro started today’s Final from second place, on the front row of the grid. After a tense start, the Portuguese driver dropped to fourth but remained in the fight for victory until two laps from the end, when he was the victim of a ‘divebomb’ by American driver Lucas Palácio, which forced him off the track and out of the race. Following the race and a review of the incident, the organizers penalized the American with a five-second penalty.
This was an unfortunate result that in no way diminishes a near-perfect performance by the Portuguese driver. In what was his sixth competition in the OKN-Junior category, the 11-year-old showed that he is fully adapted and capable of delivering top-level performance.
In the Qualifying of a competition that featured 93 participants in the OKN-Junior category at Cremona, Xavier Lázaro secured second place, just 0.027s off pole position. He was flawless in the five Heats he competed in, finishing second in the first two and winning the remaining three, also setting the fastest lap in all of them.
Today in the Pre-Final B, he led for about half the race and finished in second place. Only the result in the Final—determined by contact from a rival—was a blemish on the Portuguese driver’s weekend performance, one he should be nothing but proud of.
Could Have Been Pole Position in Qualifying
It was by the narrowest of margins that Xavier Lázaro missed out on pole position in the Qualifying session. The young DR driver was at his best during the timed session, making the most of his kart, which performed flawlessly on all fronts throughout the weekend. His fastest lap was clocked at 48.904 seconds, just edged out by Italian driver Gioele Giardello, who, at the wheel of the Modena Kart Racing Team’s Parolin, was 0.027s quicker. However, it's worth noting that on his best lap, Xavier had to move off the ideal racing line in the final sector to avoid a slower driver ahead, which affected his lap time.
Performance in the Heats Came Close to Perfection
Due to the high number of participants in this fourth stage of the championship—directly related to the fact that Cremona will host the FIA Karting World Cup for OKN-Junior in September—it was necessary for each driver to compete in five Heats. In these, Xavier Lázaro delivered an outstanding performance, clearly his best since joining the category. He finished second in two of them (the 1st and 2nd), and went on to win the remaining three. He was only beaten by the top two drivers in the Italian Championship, Albert Tamm and Gioele Giardello, both racing with Parolin/TM Kart/MG from the Modena Kart Racing Team. In both races where he finished second, Xavier Lázaro had the pace to win, but was consistently held up by some opponents, ultimately losing ground to the winners in the final laps.
In the three Heats he won, Xavier Lázaro was truly dominant. Although it always took him about three laps to find his ideal rhythm—possibly due to tire pressure—the young driver from Várzea de Sintra expertly managed the race moments, sometimes losing one or two positions. From lap four onwards, behind the wheel of the DR/Modena Engines/MG, the Portuguese driver set his pace and improved lap after lap, eventually taking the lead and pulling away from his rivals. Lap after lap, it was impressive to see how Xavier Lázaro consistently set purple sector times in sectors two and three of the Cremona Circuit. In the closing laps of all three Heats he won, the Portuguese driver recorded the fastest lap of the race. This performance is all the more remarkable considering Xavier Lázaro’s age and physical build, in his first season in a very demanding category.
Second in Pre-Final B
This morning in Pre-Final B, Xavier Lázaro started from pole position and led in the opening laps. Once again, his pace improved from the fourth lap onwards, but by then he had already been overtaken by Albert Tamm, who went on to win. Although Xavier set the fastest lap twice during the race, the official fastest lap record (49.040s) went to Albert Tamm. On the penultimate lap, Xavier tried to pass the Swiss driver, but Tamm ‘closed the door,’ so the Portuguese DR driver chose to manage and hold onto second place until the end, finishing ahead of the Canadian Kiddix driver, Simone Rocco (KR/Modena Engines/MG).
Xavier Lázaro Deserved Better Luck in the Final
For the Final, the young driver from Várzea de Sintra started from second place, alongside Gioele Giardello. At the start, both front-row drivers were not as strong, falling behind Albert Tamm and Michele Orlando (DR/Modena Engines/MG). As a result, Xavier Lázaro dropped to fourth place, staying close to the top three, who were swapping positions throughout the race. Two laps from the end, just as Xavier was preparing to challenge Albert Tamm for third place, he was hit by a ‘divebomb’ from Lucas Palácio (KR/Iame/MG). The Portuguese driver’s kart was damaged, forcing him to retire shortly after. It was an unfortunate end to a weekend where Xavier Lázaro could and deserved to fight for a podium spot until the checkered flag. After reviewing the incident between Palácio and Lázaro, the organizers issued a five-second penalty to the American driver.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
