Xavier Lázaro finished this afternoon in 10th place in the OKN-Junior category at the third round of the ACI Sport Italian Karting Championship, held at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno. With this result, in his debut season in the category, the 11-year-old from Várzea de Sintra achieved his best performance so far in the competition on the track near Naples.
Once again facing some bad luck in Friday's Qualifying, the DR driver managed no better than 20th place among the 48 participants in OKN-Junior — a result below expectations, especially considering that during the free practice sessions, Xavier Lázaro had consistently been among the fastest.
The Heats on the road to the Pre-Final and Final brought mixed feelings for the Portuguese driver. With a remarkable performance in the first of the two races, Xavier Lázaro started 13th and finished in fifth place. However, the final Heat didn’t go well for the young driver, who ended up with damage to the nose of his DR kart. The resulting penalty dropped him to 23rd place.
This morning, in Pre-Final A, Xavier Lázaro showed strength and skill, starting from ninth and finishing in fifth place. In the Final, he started 14th and once again delivered a solid performance, crossing the line in 10th with the second-fastest lap of the race.
The Portuguese driver returns to the track — and to Italy — on the first weekend of July to race at the Cremona Circuit in the second round of the WSK Euro Series.
Once Again Hindered by Qualifying
From the free practice sessions, Xavier Lázaro was among the strongest in the OKN-Junior category. Feeling comfortable in Sarno — a track he really enjoys — the Portuguese driver was focused on setting a strong lap time in Qualifying. However, the timed session didn’t go as planned. The tires didn’t offer optimal grip, which compromised his performance. Adding to the challenge, Xavier went out on track alone, with no other drivers nearby to help create a slipstream. The final result was a lap of 1m00.129, placing him 20th — far from the 59.727s he had clocked in free practice. It has happened to several drivers that some MG tires come with inconsistent grip levels, and this time, it may have affected the Portuguese driver as well.
The ‘Eight and Eighty’ of the Heats
Due to his Qualifying result, Xavier Lázaro was ‘condemned’ to start both Heats from the middle of the pack. In Heat 1, starting 13th, he had to manage the first lap carefully to avoid getting caught in any collisions, which cost him some time at the front of the race. Still, with good pace and race awareness, the young Portuguese driver climbed up the positions, ultimately securing fifth place at the checkered flag.
However, Heat 2 went all but well. Starting 14th, Xavier Lázaro found himself in the thick of a heated first lap, damaging the nose of his DR kart. He fought hard but had to deal with the lack of pace from the Czech driver Jakub Bednar (KR/Iame/MG), who essentially gave up trying to gain positions and instead focused solely on defending himself in every possible way against the Portuguese driver’s attacks. At the end of the race, Xavier was in 10th place, but due to the damage to his nose—caused by contact with the Czech driver’s kart when Bednar defended by braking ‘too early’—he received a penalty that dropped him down to 23rd.
Good Performances in the Pre-Final and Final
With the result of the last Heat destroying any chance of starting near the front in the Pre-Final, Xavier Lázaro had to shift his focus to trying to gain as many positions as possible to start as far forward as he could in the Final. Racing in Pre-Final A, he once again showed he had the right pace, especially considering he is still one of the youngest in the category. Behind the wheel of the DR/Modena Engines/MG, he delivered another strong recovery drive, securing a spot in the top five after starting ninth. The race was extremely tough and closely contested, highlighting just how competitive the OKN-Junior class currently is in the ACI Sport Italian Championship. Xavier Lázaro’s fifth place was achieved right at the finish line, overtaking his weekend’s toughest rival, Czech driver Jakub Bednar of Team Driver.
For the Final, he started 14th, from the outside going into the first three corners of the track. Keeping a clear head and staying very focused, he lost a few positions during the first lap but then began climbing through the pack. He quickly moved into the top 10 and showed that with his pace, he could have been fighting for the win if he had started closer to the front. Evidence of this was his second-fastest lap of the race (59.851s). At the start of the final lap, Xavier Lázaro was 10th and faster than the two drivers ahead of him. However, a very dramatic incident involving Italian driver Raffaele Mini (Parolin/TM Kart/MG) during the penultimate lap caused the race to be stopped with a red flag. The drivers returned to parc fermé one lap early, and Xavier Lázaro ultimately finished in 10th place.
A short break follows for the Portuguese driver, who returns to Italy on the first weekend of July to compete at the Cremona Circuit in the second round of the WSK Euro Series.
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
