PETALING JAYA, April 27 — The Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) Virtual Lockdown Championship during the Covid-19 movement control order has offered a peek into how the sport can expand in the future.
MAM president Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir said the championship that saw participants taking part in four races was an extension of what the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) envisioned for e-sports.
“They are encouraging people to take up e-motorsports. Covid-19 forced us to put plans into motion,” he said adding that MAM worked with Sepang International Circuit and the Youth and Sports Ministry to make the championship a reality.
“This is something we wanted to see gain support, traction and participation.”
About 200 people took part in the series including 48 race drivers.
There were two categories: expert and novice while four circuits including the Sepang International Circuit were chosen.
It was open to Malaysians and Singaporeans and was played on racing simulator, RaceRoom Racing Experience via the acclaimed online gaming platform, Steam.
There was even “live” commentary by Tengku Ezan Ley and Shahril “Wonderbrother”during the races.
Aiman Haziq emerged champion for the elite category while Jun Cheng Ng came out tops in the novice category.
Mokhzani added that there were endless possibilities in hosting such races including in “cars” used and prizes offered.
“This small experiment saw more than 20,000 people tuning in to have a look over the four races.”
E-sports, he predicted was the way of the future where various sports could be played virtually and have fans tune into watch.
“Right now, esports is the most attractive thing we can do since we cannot have physical events or training. It is also about building a fan base for e-motorsports.”
He said interest in virtual racing could serve as an enticement for fans to turn up to catch drivers in action at various venues.
He added that the cost to organise such races was also lower.
The former SIC chairman added that virtual races had its own set of rules and regulations for players to follow.
“We want to make sure there is a level playing field. There were protests after one race. So, we had marshals who have knowledge in virtual racing to see whether the protest was valid or not,” he said.
