Fighting in a strong 23 kart grid, Axel Nocom made an impressive start to his 2024 campaign by delivering a podium finish in the Mini Max category of the Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) Asia Festival. And he was the lone entry from the Philippines to so at the regional event held at the Sepang International Karting Circuit (SIKC).
Understanding the challenges of competing at such a high level, the Mercedes Young Driver Development Philippines (YDDP) karter headed to Malaysia a week early to compete in the opening round of the RMC Asia Trophy. This would give Axel enough time to learn the unfamiliar 1.247 km track, practice on a new Parolin chassis, and run Mojo tires to find his footing against such a competitive field.
The 11-year-old had a rough start in the RMC Asia Trophy as he found himself near the tail end of the field during the Qualifying Heats. But with gradual improvements, Axel was able to finish 6th in the Pre Finals and maintained momentum to score a podium in the Finals with 4th across the line.
There were many lessons Axel picked up on during his first weekend in Malaysia. He shared that the tire degradation, racing lines, and braking points on such a high grip track were all different from what he was used to locally.
Using these learnings, Axel would make a big splash in the RMC Asia Festival held a week after. He was on pace right from the get go and delivered an impressive performance during Heat 1 of Qualifying. Starting from P4, he took the lead on the opening lap and began to pull away. However, Itto Ida from Japan gradually reeled him in and the pair made contact as they fought for position on the very last lap. Although this relegated Axel to 5th across the finish line, it was a good showing of the Filipino karter’s speed.
Driving for Double R Motorsports (DRM), he maintained this momentum into Heat 2 where he ended up 4th, allowing him to start from P3 in the Pre Final.
It was a tough 10-lap chase on Sunday during the Pre Final with 5 karters locked in a battle for P2. After getting past Itto Ida, Axel then came under attack with Jenson Chalk from the UK and John Han from HK breathing down his rear bumper. He was en route for a P3 finish ’til Han managed to sneak past on the final lap putting him in 4th place just 0.334 secs behind.
Axel gave it one last shot in the all-important Finals. Dropping down to P6 at the start, he moved up to P5 a few laps later and gave chase to Chalk and Peerapongpan Sutumno of Thailand as the trio battled for P3. They were nose-to-tail for the most part of the 12-lap race and opened up a 2 secs gap to the rest of the field. All equally matched, not one karter could find a way past and took the chequered flag in formation with Axel in P5. But a post-race disqualification for Chalk promoted the Filipino to 4th, concluding a challenging 2-week stint in Malaysia.
Axel felt that he was able to fulfill what he set out to do as he expressed, “The best part was racing versus a lot of other drivers who are all within a second of each other. That’s what made it worth the trip.”
Bouncing off of a tough weekend where his skills were put to the test against a different playing field, Axel looks to join more competitions outside of the country as the year progresses—with the goal of returning to the Tillotson Cup in Spain in mind while seeking training in South Garda Karting, Italy.
Axel Nocom is supported by the Mercedes Young Driver Academy Philippines, Recaro Philippines, Burlington, Alaska Milk Corporation, DG Budget Hotel, Ceramic Pro, and Pregame Motorsport Merchandise.
For more info and the latest updates, follow the Axel Motorsports page on Facebook.
[Photos by Bong Boado and RMC Asia]
