TROIS RIVIERES, QC - Jesse Lazare went through the full spectrum of emotions last weekend at the Monaco de Trois-Rivieres. Lazare was happy with his second place run in the final from 29th on the grid. That second place became a win when the winner failed post-race technical inspection.
"I am really happy to get this podium," Lazare said. "My team worked very hard to give me a competitive CRG this weekend, and it was my mistake that cost us a good starting position in the final. I am glad I was able to recover from that mistake, and I am very, very happy with this win."
Practice started out slow for Lazare, who was the top 5, but still not happy with his kart. "We were close, but we were just missing something," Lazare said. In qualifying it was much the same story as Lazare qualified 5th - not something he was happy about. "We were going in the right direction with the setup, but we still weren't quite there," Lazare said of his qualifying effort.
As Lazare left the grid for the pre-final, he is known to like fast warm up laps. This caught out the PSL Karting.com driver as he got on the marbles and hit a barrier on the side of the tight Monaco de Trois-Rivieres street course. "It was embarrassing - period," Lazare said. "I just got a little too wide on cold tires and hit the barrier and bent the axle - that was it..."
Lazare lined up 29th for the final, and on the warm up lap he could tell his team had given him the best CRG possible for the final. "I knew right away that the kart was perfect, and I would be able to move forward quickly," Lazare said. Lazare made his way forward in an action packed and crash filled final to cross the line in second place. "It was great with all the fans there," Lazare said. "I didn't really know where I finished - I thought I was fourth or fifth. But when my team told me second, I was happy with that. I found out about 20 minutes later that the winner had failed tech, so I was moved up to the top step of the podium."
Jesse Lazare Quick Facts: Jesse Lazare is a 13 year old kart racer from Dollard des Ormeaux, Quebec and he is the current Coupe de Montreal Rotax Max Jr Champion. Lazare's meteoric rise up the karting ranks has been nothing short of amazing. In 2006, as a Cadet, he was second in the Coupe Vega. In 2007, as the youngest driver in Mini Max he was the Champion in both the Coupe Vega and Coupe de Montreal. Lazare set new records in 2008 by starting out as vice-champion in the Florida Winter Tour, then winning both Honda Jr and Mini Max in both the Coupe Vega and Coupe de Montreal. He was also Canadian National Champion in Mini Max.
Away from the track, Lazare enjoys skiing and hockey. For more information on Jesse Lazare, visit www.jesselazare.com
Release prepared by Russ Bond Agency (r.bond@russbondagency.com). |
