Just one week after winning in COTFA UAE, Axel Nocom returned to action at the Al Forsan International Sports Resort for Round 2 of the UAE Rotax Max Challenge. This time, he faced a strong 26-driver grid in Junior Max—finishing 4th in the Finals and securing another solid result against a highly competitive field.
Axel was immediately on pace during practice. His extra time at Al Forsan clearly paid off as he settled in and ran with the front-runners. Driving under UAE-based MN Motorsport, he qualified P4—just behind familiar names Middle East O Plate karter Conor Clancy, Veer Chopra, and Mitansh Jain—setting himself up for a strong start to the day.
But the Qualifying Heat proved far more dramatic. Starting from P4, Axel was caught out when the leaders collided ahead of him, leaving him nowhere to go and dropping him all the way to dead last in P26. With only eight laps to work with, he had to reset, refocus, and fight his way forward. What followed was a determined recovery drive as he climbed through the field to finish 15th, minimizing the damage as much as possible.
The Pre-Finals demanded another comeback. Starting from P15, Axel knew he needed to move up if he wanted a real shot in the Finals. He kept his composure, picked off karts one by one, and crossed the line in 7th — putting himself back in contention.
Axel delivered his best performance of the weekend in the Finals. Starting P7, he gained two positions off the line but soon found himself stuck behind a hard-defending reigning Rotax MiniMax champion Oliver Spencer in P4. The battle cost him precious time to the leaders, but once he finally got past, Axel set off after the lead pack — laying down four consecutive fastest laps in the process.
He closed more than a one-second gap to Chopra and nearly snatched a podium, finishing just 0.556 secs behind the Indian driver in 4th, with the fastest lap of the race. Clancy and Jain, meanwhile, had already pulled clear in 1st and 2nd, finishing more than a second ahead of the chasing pair.
Still in the UAE, Axel now prepares for another double-header — starting with Round 5 of the Champions of the Future Academy (COTFA) UAE at Al Ain Raceway this week, followed immediately by Round 6 at Al Forsan.
Axel Nocom is supported by Mercedes Driver Development, Deseño MNL, Recaro Philippines, DENSO Spark Plugs, Ceramic Pro Philippines, Ravenol Philippines, AutoPlus Sports, DRIFT XAUST, DRIFT MOTOR Speedway, Ekartraceway, Kart Republic, New Era Cap Philippines, Skullcandy Philippines, Burlington Socks, Simagic, Cammus Philippines, 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.
