The opening stage of the WSK Final Cup provided few reasons for Xavier Lázaro to remember, as the Portuguese driver failed to qualify for the Mini Sub 10 Final. Despite his recent performances in events organized by WSK Promotion where the young driver from Várzea de Sintra was in prominent positions, this time Xavier Lázaro was repeatedly hit by misfortune, ultimately leaving South Garda Karting without achieving his goals.
Poor Qualifying Affects Positioning in the Heats
From the first moments he hit the track in various free practice sessions for an event that featured 64 entries in the Mini Sub 10 class, Xavier Lázaro consistently ranked among the fastest. However, the DR team driver ended up going into the Qualifying session with his kart affected by a gear ratio change, which had a direct influence on the final result. He secured the eighth time in his group, corresponding to the 16th overall time in the session.
With this result, Xavier Lázaro fell short of what he aimed for in the start of the three heats to be contested, crucial for a desirable presence in the top positions for the Pre-Final, always with the goal of qualifying for the decisive race.
Heats Didn't Start Off Bad...
In the only heat he contested on Friday, Xavier Lázaro started from eighth and didn't have a good start, immediately dropping three positions. However, from the second lap onward, the DR team driver began to recover and gain places. He finished in third place, just a tenth behind the winner, and set the fastest lap of the race. However, the organizers decided to impose a five-second penalty on the Portuguese driver for contact with an opponent, an incident that could have been classified as a racing incident. The consequence was a drop to 9th place, which ends up concealing and distorting Xavier Lázaro's remarkable performance.
The problems began thereafter, with the remaining two heats on Saturday perhaps being the worst ever for the young Portuguese driver. In both, Xavier Lázaro ended up in the midst of incidents involving several drivers, on the first lap and at turn one in Lonato. In both situations, the DR chassis were left in such a state that they ended up in the trash. The good news is that, from both situations, Xavier Lázaro escaped with only a few bruises on his back.
Presence in the Final Became a Mirage
With two heats out of three providing many points to the DR driver (in these cases, many points are bad), a spot in the Final was not impossible but very difficult. Nevertheless, today Xavier Lázaro came to the track motivated, with the goal of giving everything to still have a chance to race in the Final. He started well in his Pre-Final and had a determined race, constantly surpassing the competition and setting the fastest lap of the race. He would easily have finished among the top seven, but once again, he was penalized by five seconds following the dispute that allowed him to surpass the Russian Stepan Mazepin, who races with a British license. A decision that infuriated the DR team officials, but the race officials did not overturn it, once again exposing that in certain situations, there are double standards. With this additional time, Xavier Lázaro was relegated to 15th place in the Pre-Final. Although this classification shows that in the race, the Portuguese driver gained 11 positions, in practice, he gained 19 positions. The analysis of the results also leads to the sad conclusion that without the two imposed penalties, even with the two unfinished heats, Xavier Lázaro would be in the Final.
The Portuguese driver leaves extremely disappointed after this first stage of the WSK Final Cup, not only for not achieving his goals but also because once again, he was penalized in situations similar to others where he was harmed, but his opponents were not punished. This weekend serves as another lesson for Xavier Lázaro in his growth as a driver. The 10-year-old is even more motivated to race in Franciacorta next weekend for the second and final stage of the WSK Final Cup.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
