ROME (6 NOVEMBER 2019): It was definitely an outing to remember for the recent eRacing Grand Prix SEA Champion, Mior Muhammad Hafiz, as he represented Malaysia for the first time in the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games which was held at Vallelunga Circuit, Rome last weekend.
Mior, who finished 8th in the Grand Final round of the Digital Cup category can be proud of himself after being one of only two drivers from Asia to qualify for the final round of the competition. The other Asian driver who followed Mior into the final was Chou Yi Teng from Chinese Taipei.
During the qualifying round, Mior clocked his best lap time at 1:30:428s and was then seeded to race in the Semi-Final B which featured the likes of eventual overall champion Cody Nikola Latkovski from Australia. It was not meant to be for Mior in the semi-final as he was unable to book an automatic spot to the final after only finishing fifth in the race.
But the day was not over for the 31-year-old, as he still had a chance to redeem himself and advance to the grand final as he was still eligible to race in the repechage round which was an alternate path for the top-3 drivers of the round to eventually advance to the grand final.
A totally different level of challenge presented itself in the grand final as twelve of the best drivers went head-to-head to claim the Digital Cup overall champion title. Mior who started the race at the last spot on the grid climbed his way up and managed to finish the race in eighth position overall where he clocked a time of 29:16.236s.
Speaking after the final, Mior said, “I have to admit that it was difficult to race here especially when you have to compete with the world’s best. Initially, I was a bit disappointed after I was unable to secure an automatic spot in the final. But after speaking with Alex and used the pointers he gave me, I managed to stay calm and focussed. God willing, it paid off as I positioned myself in the top 3 of the repechage round and took was my only remaining option to advance into the grand final.”
“In the final, I managed to climb up to eighth spot after starting the race at P12. It was a breath taking race for me as I needed to overtake a number of cars ahead of me while defending my position. All in all, this weekend was a tough but enjoyable experience. I would like to thank Axle Motorsport especially Alex Yoong and our sponsors, JD Sports Malaysia and Esports Kuala Lumpur Association (ESKL) for this wonderful opportunity and for all the backing that they had provided throughout my journey. It was a special moment for me which I will not forget for the rest of my life.
Meanwhile, the man who took Mior under his wings and also the Executive Director of Axle Motorsport, Alex Yoong was satisfied with Mior’s overall performance throughout the FIA Motorsport Games.
“Clearly this was going to be a brand new experience especially for Mior as I only expected him to make it into the final which he successfully managed, but for him to finish eight was a bonus considering this was his first time competing at the international level.”
“It was very interesting to watch especially his transition from the beginning where he was very nervous and then slowly gained confidence in the repechage round where he drove with a bit more freedom and did very well to finish third. In the final, he maintained momentum especially with his pace and did a tremendous job overtaking and defending his position. Overall, I was pleased with his performance and feels he has a bright future in this sport.” added Alex.
The FIA Motorsport Games which was held at Vallelunga Circuit, Rome, Italy last weekend, was inspired by a successful event at last year’s GT Festival in Bahrain. Six categories were featured in this year’s edition namely GT Cup, Touring Car Cup, Formula 4 Cup, Drifting Cup, Karting Slalom Cup, and Digital Cup.
