Written By : Andrew Samuel
KUALA LUMPUR (22 SEPTEMBER 2021): Following their success in the EERC European Endur-ance Championship 24-hour race in June, Axle Sports is all set to propel forward in the upcom-ing Le Mans Virtual series which is scheduled to start on the 25th of September.
Axle Sports, led by Alex Yoong, is honoured to be a part of such a prestigious sim racing event which is thought to be one of the biggest in the world. The team has been selected as one of only 31 teams to compete in the virtual race for the second season in a row. Alex would have fond memories of the world’s oldest active sports car endurance race as he won ‘Rookie of the Year’ when he first competed in Le Mans back in 2006.
The newly re-named and expanded Le Mans Virtual Series will be a global, elite series made up of five rounds, and kicks off on the 25th of September with a 4-hour endurance race at Monza.
Yoong believes the team will perform better this year and is ready to face their opponents from all across the world. “I’m really proud of what Axle Sports has achieved in esports in a really short time. When we entered last year, we were new to rFactor2 and did not know what to ex-pect. But now, with a year’s experience under our belt, we have become a leading rFactor2 team in the region with multiple victories not just here but also in Europe. Our aim is to win. Our aim is to show that we have the talent in Asia Pacific to take on the best teams in Europe and beat them,” said Alex.
Axle Sports will be relying on one of the fastest sim racers in Malaysia, Naquib Azlan, who re-cently won his second eRacing GP Global Edition championship in May 2021. “I’m delighted to be a part of this team and I can’t wait to share the stage with some of the best drivers in the world.” said Naquib.
Naquib Azlan will be accompanied by Josh Purwien (Australia) and Team Flash driver, Muham-mad Aleef (Singapore) who will drive Car #21 in the LMP Class, while Alister Yoong (Malaysia), Mikko Nassi (Singapore) and Inigo Anton (Philippines) will be competing in the GTE Class in Car #61.
The first four rounds, taking place between September and December, will be held strictly online, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual taking place as the climax of the premier endur-ance esports championship. The finale will be a live, televised event within the 2022 Autosport International motorsport show in Birmingham, U.K. on January 15 and 16, 2022, with 50% of the entire U.S.$250,000 prize fund available for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual standalone race. For more information, visit lemansvirtual.com.
