Axel Nocom delivered his strongest European performance to date with a 2nd place finish in the Champions of the Future Academy Program (COTFA) at the Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero in Valencia, Spain. Competing in the highly competitive OK-N Junior category that attracted 56 entries, the 14-year-old stood out as the lone representative from the Philippines and emerged as one of the front-runners throughout the weekend.
The event began with a difficult start on Friday. Practice sessions were plagued by engine issues, limiting Axel to just three full sessions on track. Despite the setbacks, he still managed to post the 4th-fastest time whenever the engine was running properly.
The problem was resolved on Saturday after a new motor was issued, but the disrupted preparation made qualifying challenging. Strong headwinds around the circuit meant that slipstreaming played a big role in lap times. Without a tow during his three flying laps, Axel lost as much as 10 km/h on the straights and was left down in 11th.
Despite starting deep in the field, Axel wasted no time making progress in Heat 1. From the 6th row of the grid, he surged to P5 by the end of the opening lap before finding himself in a heated battle with Switzerland’s Zoltan Coigny for the lead. The pair pulled away from the rest of the pack as they traded positions, with Axel ultimately crossing the line just 0.093 secs behind Coigny to finish 2nd.
Heat 2 produced even more drama. Axel again made an aggressive start, quickly climbing to P4 and joining a four-way fight for the lead with Coigny, Spain’s Herman Rodriguez, and India’s Mir Atiqa. After a tense battle, Axel crossed the finish line in P1 with the narrowest of margins over Rodriguez. However, a 5-sec post-race penalty dropped him down the order to 15th. Even with the setback, his combined results still allowed him to start P5 in Saturday’s Final.
The Final saw Axel immediately move into contention for the win. He fought his way into the lead early and spent much of the 15-lap race shuffling between P1 and P2. The closing laps turned into an all-out fight as several drivers joined the battle at the front. Contact with Atiqa on the final lap allowed Rodriguez to escape for the victory, with Axel crossing the line in P3 but later relegated to 4th after another penalty.
Sunday provided Axel with a chance to bounce back after the previous day’s near-miss. Qualifying once again proved difficult as he became trapped in a group of midfield runners while searching for a tow, leaving him down in P12.
Heat 1 saw Axel immediately begin his recovery drive. Starting from P12, he climbed to P5 by lap 3 and continued pushing forward to finish 4th. Heat 2 followed a similar pattern as he worked his way up to P4 by lap 6. However, a late-race scuffle dropped him to P6 at the flag, and a dropped bumper penalty later relegated him further to 10th.
Those results placed Axel P6 on the grid for the Final, starting on the outside line into Turn 1—a position that often leaves drivers vulnerable at the start. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his ground and quickly worked his way forward, reaching P2 by lap 5 as he began chasing pole-sitter Coigny.
The final laps produced another intense duel between the two drivers. Axel briefly took the lead in the closing stages before the fight went down to the chequered flag. In the end, Coigny edged him by just 0.087 secs at the line. While narrowly missing out on victory, Axel secured a well-earned 2nd-place finish—his first podium in Europe in his karting career.
The result marked a major milestone for the young Filipino and capped off a weekend where he consistently fought at the front of the OK-N Junior field. It also reflected the steady progress he has made over the past few months, building the confidence to attack from the midfield, execute clean overtakes, and race wheel-to-wheel with the category’s top contenders. With his performances across both race days, Axel now moves up to 2nd overall in the OK-N Junior standings in the Champions of the Future Academy Program (COTFA).
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.
