Strong Pace on Return as Gore Shows Speed at Franciacorta

Swedish-Australian karting driver Axel “Axeman” Gore made an encouraging return to competition at the WSK Super Master Series in Franciacorta (March 19–22), showing strong pace throughout the weekend in the OKN-J category with Team Driver following a four-week injury layoff.

Axel in action at Viterbo, just north of Rome.

Returning from a fractured elbow sustained in February, Gore wasted no time getting back up to speed, consistently running towards the front during pre-event testing and carrying that momentum into qualifying.

In a competitive 27-kart group, Gore secured 11th position in qualifying, with his ideal lap time placing him inside the top 10 — a clear indication of his pace on return.

The opening heat proved challenging, with Gore losing positions in the early laps before recovering to finish 16th. He bounced back strongly in Heat 2, delivering one of his best races of the weekend by gaining four positions to finish 7th out of 26 karts.

Heat 3 followed a similar pattern to the first, with Gore dropping back on the opening lap before fighting through the field to cross the line in 13th.

In the pre-final, Gore finished 19th, securing a place in the Final where he started from 27th on the grid. A strategy call between the pre-final and final made conditions more difficult, however Gore continued to push forward, gaining three positions to finish 24th.

While the final result didn’t reflect the underlying pace, the weekend marked a strong comeback performance with clear signs of front-running speed.

Axeman on his comeback:

“It’s been really good to be back racing again after the injury. I felt strong in the kart straight away and the qualifying pace was really encouraging. There are definitely a few things to sharpen up with racecraft after being out for a few weeks, but overall I’m really happy with the speed we showed. My arm was a bit sore by the end of the weekend with so much running, but that’s normal. I’m excited to keep building momentum into the next round and keep pushing forward."

ENDS