Axel Nocom endured a frustrating weekend at Round 2 of the Champions of the Future Academy (COTFA), held in Greece. Despite emerging as one of the fastest drivers throughout the weekend, the young Filipino left without the results his pace truly deserved.
The event marked the first international race weekend at the newly-opened Circuit 27 near Thessaloniki. With no race footage, historical data, or previous examples of overtaking opportunities available, nearly the entire field arrived facing a steep learning curve on completely unfamiliar territory.
While several of his rivals had already spent a week testing at the circuit prior to the event, Axel only arrived shortly before race weekend to learn the track. To make matters even more difficult, a tornado ripped through the paddock on Thursday, destroying tents and forcing one practice session to be cancelled. Fortunately, no one was harmed, but the lost track time further limited Axel’s preparation heading into the weekend.
Despite the setbacks, the 14-year-old Filipino immediately emerged as one of the quickest drivers in OK-N Junior. Axel consistently ran near the top of the timesheets throughout Free Practice and ended the sessions 2nd fastest. He carried that momentum into Saturday Qualifying where he secured pole position in a packed 24-kart grid.
Axel converted pole into a dominant lights-to-flag victory in Heat 1, controlling the race from the front and remaining untouchable throughout. Heat 2 proved more difficult as he came under pressure from India’s Atiqa Mir. The pair traded positions before Axel crossed the line in 2nd, though his combined Heat results still secured pole position for Saturday’s Final.
The Final quickly turned into one of the fiercest races of the weekend. Axel initially held onto the lead but soon found himself under heavy pressure from Mir, Switzerland’s Zoltan Coigny, and Kosovo’s Diar Islami. The quartet fought nose-to-tail throughout the race in a tense four-way battle for victory. Axel eventually crossed the line in 3rd after an aggressive fight to the finish, but post-race drama followed as both Axel and Mir were later disqualified after being deemed responsible for a collision.
After the previous day’s disappointment, Axel returned determined to bounce back on Sunday. He qualified P3 behind Mir and Islami before slipping one position in Heat 1 to finish 4th. Heat 2 proved slightly stronger as he held onto 3rd through to the chequered flag, securing another P3 starting position for the Sunday Final.
Mir controlled the pace from the front in the Final while Axel found himself locked in another close battle, this time against Islami and female karter Julia Angelard for the remaining podium positions. Axel spent much of the race in P4 but pushed hard in the closing laps, moving himself into podium contention with two laps remaining.
However, contact with Mitansh Jain later earned Axel a 5-sec penalty, dropping him to 8th in the final classification.
Although penalties denied him the results his pace deserved, Axel remains firmly in championship contention and currently sits 4th overall in the OK-N Junior standings with the season still far from over. He also demonstrated that he can run at the front consistently despite having no prior testing at the circuit unlike many of his rivals.
Axel Nocom: “The final result does not reflect the consistency and pace on this brand new track this weekend. I took the risk and it didn’t stick. We’re no longer going to be content with another P2. If there’s a chance, we will win it or bin it. We’re no longer there to participate, but to win.”
Axel Nocom is supported by Mercedes Driver Development, Deseño MNL, Recaro Philippines, Ceramic Pro Philippines, DRIFT XAUST, DRIFT MOTOR Speedway, Ekartraceway, Kart Republic, Oasis Tech HK, Dri Plus Ph, Simagic, Apex Racing Philippines, Monza Barcade, Pregame Motorsport Merchandise, and DG Budget Hotel.
Those interested in following in Axel’s footsteps to race competitively overseas can inquire at the Axel Motorsports page on Facebook.
