In the last few days, Xavier Lázaro continued his extensive schedule of races for this year. The eight-year-old driver was in Italy this week to participate in the first stage of the WSK Euro Series, held at the South Garda Karting in Lonato. As part of the official DR team to compete in the Mini category, the Portuguese driver had moments of grandeur that did not go unnoticed by the keen observers.
Starting from the end, that is, the final results, the plain truth is that Xavier Lázaro once again missed out on the Pre-Finals and consequently did not participate in Sunday's Finals. This time, it was very close that the Sintra-born driver didn't secure a spot among those competing in the most coveted race of the weekend: the Final. The story of Xavier Lázaro's presence in this opening stage of one of the various competitions in the WSK universe could be summed up by this outcome. However, considering that the Portuguese driver is only eight years old with a significant room for improvement in the Mini category, it is fair to analyze and report on his actual performance during this weekend of racing in Lonato.
Impressive Performance in Official Free Practice Sessions
The field of drivers with ambitions for a noteworthy result in the Mini category for this 1st stage of the Euro Series was extensive, actually enormous, as 110 drivers answered the call from the Italian organization. Xavier Lázaro did not come with ambitions for a top result, focusing only on his progress and giving his best on the track.
What was truly evident during the competition was his best effort. Clear emphasis on the initial days, with the Portuguese driver being among the fastest in Wednesday's free practice sessions, where Lázaro consistently ranked in the top 10. In one of the sessions, he even became the fastest driver behind the dominant Vladimir Ivannikov.
However, not everything was perfect in the performance of the young Portuguese driver, who ended up not being as efficient in the timed practice sessions. At a time when converting good pace into lap times is crucial, Xavier Lázaro paid the price for inexperience, finishing with only the 88th time. This placed him in the 25th starting position in his qualifying heats.
Doing the Best Possible
In such a highly competitive field, starting 25th in all qualifying heats made it challenging for the Portuguese driver's ambitions, even though his primary focus was on learning as much as possible throughout the weekend and trying to finish the races. In that aspect, the mission was completely fulfilled. Despite being frequently a victim of contact from aggressive but less experienced drivers in some races, the DR young talent managed to finish every time. He had some excellent performances, such as the final (3rd) qualifying heat on Friday, where starting 25th, he passed eight drivers in nine laps to finish 17th. A similar, though not as good, result occurred in one of the Saturday races, starting 25th and finishing 18th.
The Portuguese driver narrowly missed entering the Pre-Final, but based on the level of his performance, we are confident that this moment is very close.
“Não posso deixar de estar muito satisfeito com o desempenho do Xavier esta semana em Itália”,the father, Vasco Lázaro, stated. “Nos primeiros dias de treinos livres, encontrei um Xavier feliz, despreocupado e muito dedicado ao seu desempenho em pista. Em treinos livres, chegou a rodar entre os mais rápidos da Mini, o que impressionou até a sua própria equipa. O seu potencial está lá e foram vários os pais de pilotos que me felicitaram e encorajaram pelo ritmo evidenciado por um piloto que ainda dá os seus primeiros passos a nível internacional.
É claro que depois ‘a fava’ foram os treinos cronometrados. Ou seja, no momento em que a pressão é imensa e temos que concretizar, ele ainda precisa crescer. Mas, é normal, convém lembrar que tem apenas oito anos. O trabalho está a ser bem feito e há que dar-lhe continuidade, até porque a maturidade que mostra em corrida é também ela notável.”
Photos: Sportinphoto Kart Photo-Agency
