Filipino teen karter Axel Nocom gets a wall-length banner at Abu Dhabi's Al Forsan kart circuit

A wall-length banner of 14-year-old Filipino karter Mariano Axel Nocom now hangs above garage 12 at the Al Forsan International Kart Circuit in Abu Dhabi, where he set an OK-N Junior track record in 2025. This month he became the first Filipino to race at the FIA Karting World Cup.

Above garage 12 in the pit building of the Al Forsan International Kart Circuit in Abu Dhabi, a wall-length banner now shows kart number 36 and its driver, 14-year-old Filipino karter Mariano Axel Nocom, The Global Filipino Magazine reported on 30 October. The banner places him on the wall of Al Forsan Motorsport, which is based at the circuit in Khalifa City.

The image shows Nocom in the Champions of the Future Academy (COTFA) livery he raced at the track. At the OK-N Junior round of COTFA there from 7 to 9 November 2025, he won three qualifying heats and Race 2, and lapped in 55.055 seconds in Time Qualifying, a track record for the OK-N Junior engine, according to the magazine.

The magazine said the tribute follows a stretch in which he has become a source of inspiration for young karters in the UAE.

First Filipino at the FIA Karting World Cup

This month Nocom became the first Filipino to line up at the FIA Karting World Cup in Viterbo, Italy. Time Attack Manila reported that he fought his way into the 36-driver Final in the OK-N Junior category from 110 entries, and finished ninth after dropping to 14th early in the Final and surviving contact with other drivers.

"This was definitely the highest level of competition I've experienced so far," Nocom told Time Attack Manila. "Even if you don't win, you're still gaining something when you come away with new knowledge."

Inquirer Lifestyle reported that he next heads to the COTFA finale at Franciacorta, Italy, where he sits second in the standings in a three-way fight for the championship against rivals from Switzerland and the UAE, before a senior debut set for mid-December at the Macau Grand Prix karting invitational.

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