Xavier Lázaro started a long competitive program for 2022 this weekend, which is divided between Italy and Portugal. For 2022, the pilot from Várzea de Sintra is focused on the Mini category in Italy and X30 Mini in Portugal. In the first race of the year, in Italy, Lázaro was at the South Garda Karting in Lonato last weekend to compete in the second stage of the Super Master Series, an event on the WSK calendar.
"For this year, the goal is to have Xavier training and competing as much as possible without affecting his school calendar", said Vasco Lázaro, the driver's father. "At the international level, a calendar of events has been organized in collaboration with DR so that he can familiarize himself with the most important tracks on the WSK calendar, preparing for the 2023 season. With this goal in mind, he participates in some stages of the WSK championships this year, as well as rounds of the Italian Championship on tracks where he will later compete in the WSK calendar."
He Didn't Reach the Pre-final and Final, But Performed Strongly In Practices and Races
In the second stage of the WSK Super Master Series, in his first race of 2022, Xavier Lázaro showed excellent performance on the track, and it is already possible to glimpse the consequences of being part of the official DR team. As one of the official drivers of the team led by Danilo Rossi, Xavier Lázaro, like all his teammates, is scrutinized in terms of his performance and attitude on the track, something crucial in his life as a driver, especially at such an early stage as the current one.
On the track since last week, Xavier Lázaro has been showing consistency and the ability to position himself well, although a realistic approach suggests that it is still early to project the performances of the young Portuguese driver to the front positions in the Mini category. Everything in its own time, and this is the moment to learn.
During the free practice sessions, he consistently posted competitive lap times, and in the Qualifying session, he finished with the 75th time out of 107 present drivers. With his lap time of 53.11s, he was less than a second behind the pole position holder. Undoubtedly, these are positive indicators, considering that the driver is one of the youngest in the category (eight years old) and has limited competitive experience at this level.
In the Heats, he finished the first one in 21st place, climbing four positions from the start, demonstrating comfort on the track and aggressiveness. In the second Heat, he started and finished in 26th place. In Heat 3, he faced difficulties, and after damaging the nose of his DR, he concluded in 33rd place. In Heat 4, he started from 26th and finished one position above. Unfortunately, due to the result in Heat 3, he ended up outside the positions qualifying for the Pre-final.
With the Official DR Team and Under the "Watchful Eye" of Danilo Rossi
With Xavier Lázaro's first international appearance for 2022 now completed, his father briefly summarized the weekend. "In my opinion, Xavier performed very well on the track during these days. His attitude is already different compared to last year. He is more focused, fully embracing the competitive spirit, attentive to everything happening on the track, and always with the desire to move forward."
Vasco Lázaro added, "Being part of the official team makes all the difference; he is constantly being analyzed for his performance on the track, and as soon as he makes a mistake, he is immediately called to correct it on the spot. This is sometimes done by Danilo Rossi, who pays close attention to Xavier's performance. It was good to see how quickly he absorbed what was communicated to him, showing intelligence and a willingness to execute what was asked of him. He is much more mature, although still so small in comparison to the competition", concluded Vasco Lázaro.
All the results of Xavier Lázaro in Round 2 of the WSK Super Master Series can be consulted HERE.
