By Singaporean and Legion of Racers simracer Ar Aleef Muhammad has emerged as the champion simracer of the Toyota GR Supra GT Cup Asia Regional round which was concluded on 25 October.
With 15 racers from five countries – Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and India – Aleef ended the competition as the top simracer, and earned himself the prize money of US$6,000 (S$8,164).
Driving under the Legion of Racers banner, he emerged as the champion after three intense rounds which were held in the tracks of Fuji Speedway, Tokyo, and the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Aleef took the top step in the final standings by finishing first in two of the three races which were all concluded on the same day. He will now head to the global finals.
Two of LOR’s other racers – Nur Shazliezhan and Jason Tay – finished in 6th and 9th in the final standings respectively.
“I feel immensely proud to have represented Singapore and the Legion of Racers at a such a prestigious stage and ending up as the Toyota GR Supra GT Cup Asia Regional round champion,” said Aleef.
“This was arguably the toughest Championship for me so far, going against Asian heavyweights in a different platform and game like Gran Turismo Sport. Competitors like Taj Aiman and Nat Sirigaya are extremely experienced at GT Sport, so knowing this I had to work extra hard this past month, putting all my free time from National Service to fine-tune my driving style to adapt to the amazing Toyota GR Supra. With technical and tricky tracks like the Nurburgring Nordschliefe, it made my preparation that much harder than it already was,” he added.
This is not the first time that Aleef has won a simracing event. Last October, he was crowned the Logitech G Challenge Asia Pacific e-racing champion in Melbourne. This year, he also picked up a series of titles on the eRacing Grand Prix championships, and has clearly emerged as one of the top simracers in Asia.
LOR co-founder Melvin Moh said that Aleef’s victorious outing at the Toyota championships further cements his reputation as among the best simracers in the region, if not in the world.
“Aleef is able to win consistently across multiple competitions. What this clearly means is that he has the technical skills required to be among the top simracers in the world. It is our hope that he will continue to train hard and keep pushing limits so that he will keep the Singapore and Legion of Racers flags flying high in competitions around the world,” said Moh.
“Going into the races, the key was consistency, and peaking in performance as a driver at the right time, which was when qualifying began proper, and to drag that performance out till the last race,” he added.
Aleef will now represent Asia at the global finals, date of which has yet to be announced by the organisers.
“A huge thanks has to go to the team, Legion of Racers, who have put their faith and belief on me for the past two years, and without their backing, or the support from my teammates, I would not have been able to put in such a performance on the board,” he remarked.