Text and photo by Tracy Cabrera
Filipino racer Axel Nocom guested with his father, Michael, at the to PSA Forum where he announced his desire to bring honor to Philippines in the international karting circuit.
Not as celebrated as other sports like basketball, boxing and recently tennis, local teen karting prodigy Mariano ‘Axel’ Nocom has placed the Philippines in the global stage after being hailed as the world’s number 2 in the international kart racing circuit.
Forget the fanfare, though, as the 24-year-old Filipino karter has that greater resolve than most and despite difficulties in training like his foreign rivals, Nocom is making heads turn with his skill as a young driver.
Nocom is based in the Philippines but has his love for karting has brought him across Asia, Europe and the Middle East and he now faces the biggest race of his young and promising career—the ‘Champions of the Future’ final round in Italy.
The high-level race is scheduled for November 13 to 15 at the demanding Franciacorta Karting Track, or officially known as the Porsche Experience Center, in Castrezzato, Brescia, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
Nocom is running second overall among 35 karters, mostly Europeans and a victory and the overall title will cement his place in karting history.
“I want to make our nation proud. May pressure but I’m carrying the hopes of our nation. If I win this I can make a name for myself,” he enthused at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission media room.
The forthcoming race in Italy is the fifth and final round of the prestigious ‘Champions of the Future’ where the world’s top young karters compete, including those whom Nocom described as future F1 drivers.
“This is the highest level of karting,” he described while guesting at the weekly forum by his father, Michael Nocom, who admitted plays basketball but never tried racing like his son. Nevertheless, he’s keen on supporting Axel in his love for the adrenalin rush in speed racing.
“I represent the Philippines all around the world and I’m very proud of that. I want to be number one in the world,” the teener shared his ambition.
His father is optimistic about this as his son has already figured second in the first leg in Spain. The second and third legs proved to be gruelling as Nocom crashed out in Greece after taking pole position on the second day and finished third in the third in Italy, just behind a Mercedes program karter.
He still won the fourth leg in Spain, beating 34 karters, becoming the first Filipino karter to achieve the feat. And he is confident that if he can do it in Spain, he can do it in Italy.
“I really want to win this race,” he expressed his fondest goal during the forum presented by the PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, San Miguel Corporation, MILO and ArenaPlus, the country’s 24/7 sports app.
Nocom’s dad, who has been bearing the brunt of the expenses in his son’s campaign, noted that discipline and determination brought Axel to where he is right now.
“Because we cannot spend half a million pesos just to go to Europe and practice unlike the others, Axel does most of his training, six days a week via the simulator. Then he studies online, goes to the gym, runs around the village,” he pointed out.
“At the Carmona circuit, he gets to practice while teaching other young karters as young as five years old. The simulator helps a lot. It trains you not to just drive fast but how to react in certain situations like when a karter spins in front of you,” Michael added to conclude.
