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.
“Para este ano, o objetivo passa por ter o Xavier a treinar e competir o mais possível, sem que isso afete o seu calendário escolar”, said Vasco Lázaro, the driver's father. “A nível internacional, foi organizado um calendário de eventos, em conjunto com a DR, para que ele possa conhecer as pistas mais importantes do calendário da WSK, preparando a temporada de 2023. É com esse objetivo que este ano ele faz algumas etapas dos campeonatos WSK, assim como rondas do Campeonato Italiano em pistas onde mais à frente irá competir no calendário WSK.”
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.
Com a equipa oficial da DR e sob o ‘olho clínico’ de Danilo Rossi
With Xavier Lázaro's first international appearance for 2022 now completed, his father briefly summarized the weekend. “O Xavier esteve na minha opinião muito bem em pista durante este dias. A sua postura já está diferente comparando com o ano passado. Está mais focado, totalmente no espírito competitivo, alerta a tudo o que se passa em pista e sempre com a vontade de andar para a frente.”
Vasco Lázaro added, “estar inserido na equipa oficial faz toda a diferença, está sempre a ser analisado no seu desempenho em pista e assim que comete algum erro, é imediatamente chamado para que se possa corrigir no momento. Isso por vezes foi feito pelo Danilo Rossi, que está atento ao desempenho do Xavier. Foi bom ver como ele apreendia depressa aquilo que lhe era transmitido, mostrando inteligência e vontade de executar o que lhe era pedido. Está muito mais maduro, embora ainda tão pequenino na comparação com ‘a concorrência'”, concluded Vasco Lázaro.
All the results of Xavier Lázaro in Round 2 of the WSK Super Master Series can be consulted HERE.
