Stage 3 of the Toyota Portugal Karting Championship was quite challenging for Xavier Lázaro, disappointing his high expectations. Although the constant improvement of the DR driver is evident, the results once again fell below expectations, with various technical problems and more affecting his performance.
The event, organized by AIA Motor Clube, held high expectations for Xavier Lázaro, competing in his second season in X30 Mini, although in 2022 representing new colors, those of DR. The driver from Várzea de Sintra had great anticipation for this event, on a track he holds in high regard. However, early in the week that just ended, it became clear that the performance of young Xavier would be severely hampered, as in the various unofficial free practice sessions he contested, he had an underperforming engine.
Saturday Was the Most Positive Day of the Weekend
The situation improved on Saturday. With access to another engine unit, Xavier progressed on the track, giving promising signs for the qualifying session. However, in the timed session, Xavier Lázaro couldn't translate his pace into a good time, greatly hindered by the slowness of some of his competitors, which made it challenging for him.
In the first qualifying heat, Xavier drove aggressively, engaging in various disputes, some more heated than others. With a lot of excitement, the eight-year-old couldn't avoid a collision that damaged the front of the DR. Despite finishing the race in 3rd place, the penalty assigned for the damaged front resulted in the DR driver dropping to sixth place overall.
In Race 1, Xavier Lázaro once again performed at a very high level, this time translating his good performance into a top-four result. Considering the difficulties encountered so far, this result brought positive vibes for Sunday.
Sunday of Setbacks
Sunday started off poorly for Xavier Lázaro right in the timed session. After securing the 3rd best time on the track in his category, Xavier was later disqualified. The reason for this penalty was the use of a spark plug that was not from the official championship manufacturer.
"The spark plug was the one that came with the engine that was provided to us on Saturday", said Vasco Lázaro, Xavier's father, sounding disheartened. "The spark plug was just from a different manufacturer. It was a mistake from the one who provided us the engine. It's not a situation from which we could gain any advantage; it was just a costly distraction".
Due to this situation, Xavier Lázaro started the 2nd Qualifying Heat from the 12th and last position. At the start, the driver from Várzea de Sintra immediately began to climb positions, quickly reaching eighth place. While trying to overtake the driver in seventh, Xavier Lázaro found himself involved in an incident with three other drivers. Despite having no fault in this setback, the DR driver had his race spoiled, still finishing in 9th place, three positions above where he had started the race.
In Race 2, luck once again did not favor Xavier Lázaro. Starting well once more, he immediately gained positions until reaching the rear of the driver ahead. Although faster than the driver in front, Xavier Lázaro took a long time to overtake an opponent more focused on defending position at any cost rather than fighting to gain places. After finally completing the pass, Xavier Lázaro entered into a new battle, this time with Diogo Caetano, managing to overtake the Birel driver to secure the 5th position in the end.
"This race was very challenging for me", Xavier Lázaro said wearily at the end. "I was competitive and wanted to move forward because I knew I could contend for the podium. I was blocked in various ways by the driver ahead, and that turned out to be my biggest challenge. When I managed to pass him, it was already too late to get close to the four competitors in front of me,", he concluded.
The results of this race can be checked HERE.
Photos: Hellofoto
