Xavier Lázaro missed out on qualification for the Super Heats of a Champions Of The Future round for the second time this year. Organised by RGMMC, the series serves as the official build-up event to each round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship, taking place one week earlier at the same circuit. At Germany's Motorsportarena Mülsen, the 12-year-old was unable to showcase his usual competitiveness, struggling with a lack of pace throughout the opening two days of competition, a factor that proved decisive in shaping both his performance and final results.
Following testing at the circuit during the previous week and in the days leading up to the event, the Várzea de Sintra driver arrived at the race weekend in high spirits. Consistently among the fastest drivers on track, Xavier Lázaro had regularly lapped in the 49-second range, matching the benchmark pace. However, for reasons difficult to explain, lap times deteriorated significantly both on the opening day, which featured Qualifying and Heats, and again on the following day. Despite every effort from the official DR Racing Kart team to recover the competitiveness shown during testing, the objective could not be achieved and the young Portuguese driver was never able to perform at his usual level.
A Difficult Qualifying and Heat Campaign
Qualifying on Thursday effectively sealed Xavier Lázaro’s fate for the remainder of the weekend. Well outside the benchmark pace, the official DR Racing Kart driver posted a best lap of 50.508s, leaving him only 76th among the 93 competitors, 1.009s adrift of pole position. Despite delivering a solid session, positioning himself correctly on track and benefiting from a good slipstream, he was still unable to produce a lap capable of placing him anywhere near the top 20.
The Qualifying result left him starting from the back of the grid in every Heat. In a category where consistently finishing inside the top 12 is crucial to securing a place in the Final, starting each race from 26th position represented a major disadvantage, particularly at a narrow circuit known for incidents, unsafe rejoins and demanding racing conditions.
The opening day of Heats, while far from perfect, was not entirely negative. In the first race, Xavier Lázaro was extremely aggressive on the opening lap, gaining 14 positions. However, once it became necessary to maintain pace and consistency, the lack of competitiveness from his DR chassis once again became evident. The Portuguese driver struggled to defend positions and was eventually pushed off the track by a rival. Although the offending driver received a post-race penalty, it had no impact on Lázaro’s result, as he finished 27th, one position lower than where he had started.
In Heat 2, the Portuguese driver achieved his best result of the weekend, finishing 15th, eleven places higher than his starting position. For this race, DR Racing Kart made setup changes to the kart, opting for a shorter gear ratio. While the adjustment did not significantly improve outright performance, Xavier Lázaro once again produced an excellent start and benefited from the circumstances of the race to secure a stronger result.
Saturday proved particularly difficult for the young Portuguese driver. In Heat 3, he once again delivered a solid performance despite the ongoing lack of pace, but damage to the front fairing resulted in a five-second penalty that dropped him to 23rd position. Even so, he still finished higher than where he had started. The final two Heats were marked by chaos. In one race, Xavier Lázaro was forced off the circuit by a rival who was later disqualified. In the final Heat, he became trapped in the aftermath of a major multi-kart accident and was forced to retire.
Next week, the young Portuguese driver will return to Motorsportarena Mülsen for a round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship. Given the circuit’s narrow layout and demanding nature, another challenging weekend is expected for both Xavier Lázaro and the official DR Racing Kart team.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
