Xavier Lázaro correu este fim-de-semana a quarta etapa do ACI Sport Campeonato Italiano de Karting, no Cremona Circuit. Com aquele que foi até agora o seu melhor desempenho da temporada na categoria OKN-Júnior, Xavier Lázaro arrancou hoje para a Final do segundo lugar e na primeira linha da grelha de partida. Depois de um arranque tenso, o piloto português caíu para o quarto lugar, mantendo-se na luta pela vitória até duas voltas do fim, altura em que foi vítima de um ‘divebomb’ do americano Lucas Palácio, que o forçou a sair de pista e abandonar a corrida. Após a corrida e análise do incidente, a organização penalizou o americano em cinco segundos.
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
Hoje de manhã, na Pré-Final B, Xavier Lázaro largou da primeira posição e liderou nas primeiras voltas. De novo, o seu ritmo foi melhor a partir da quarta volta, mas nessa altura já havia sido superado por Albert Tamm, que veio a vencer. Apesar de por duas vezes fazer a melhor volta da corrida, acabou por ser Albert Tamm a ficar com esse registo (49.040s). Na penúltima volta, Xavier Lázaro ainda tentou passar o suiço, mas este ‘fechou a porta’ e o piloto português da DR optou por até ao fim gerir e segurar a segunda posição, na frente do canadiano da Kiddix, Simone Rocco (KR/Modena Engines/MG.
Xavier Lázaro Deserved Better Luck in the Final
Para a Final, o jovem da Várzea de Sintra largou do segundo lugar, ao lado de Gioele Girardello. No arranque, ambos os pilotos da primeira linha não estiveram tão fortes, caindo para trás de Albert Tamm e Michele Orlando (DR/Modena Engines/MG). Assim sendo, Xavier Lázaro colocou-se no quarto lugar, sempre na cola dos três primeiros, que durante toda a corrida foram trocando posições entre si. A duas voltas do fim, numa altura em que Xavier Lázaro se preparava para atacar o terceiro lugar de Albert Tamm, foi abalroado pelo ‘divebomb’ de Lucas Palácio (KR/Iame/MG). O piloto português ficou com danos no kart e abandonou pouco depois. Um final inglório para um fim-de-semana em que Xavier Lázaro podia e merecia ter lutado pelo pódio até à bandeirada de xadrez. Após análise do acidente entre Palácio e Lázaro, a organização atribuiu cinco segundos de penalização ao piloto americano.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
