Slim racer Nabil Azlan clinched the gold medal for Malaysia in the Esports Assetto Corsa category at the Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship 2026 (APMC 2026) held at the Bira Circuit in Pattaya, Thailand.
The 24-year-old dominated across the entire weekend by winning every race across the quarterfinals, semifinals and the grand finals.
He improved upon his performance from the prior year’s event, where he took home a silver medal in the iRacing discipline.
His victory also extended Malaysia’s proud record in the esports discipline, having secured gold medals at APMC since its inaugural edition in 2023.
Malaysia was represented by four athletes sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) under the Malaysia Esports Accelerator Program (MEAP).
Teammate Iqbal Suji, 28, also qualified for the finals and finished in 6th place overall in the Assetto Corsa category, a commendable result in his first appearance at the championship.
While Raja Amirul Syauqat and Ethen Low faced a challenging and unfortunate run in the iRacing category, despite entering the tournament with high expectations as Malaysia’s top-two national e-sports qualifiers.
Raja Amirul Syauqat, 22, making his APMC debut, battled his way through the earlier rounds to secure a place in the Final. Starting from seventh on the grid, his hopes of climbing to a podium spot were dashed following a collision with an Australian competitor. The crash sent him to the back of the pack, and after a fierce recovery effort, he ultimately crossed the finish line in 9th place overall.
For 16-year-old Ethen Low, the youngest competitor in the esports contingent, the championship proved to be a challenging introduction to international competition. The teenager progressed to the iRacing semifinals but suffered a major setback that brought his campaign to a premature end.
Despite the setback on the regional stage, both drivers gained valuable international experience to add to their highly promising sim and track-racing careers.
All four Malaysian athletes earned their places in the national squad after finishing in the top two positions of their respective national qualifying competitions, sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM).
With competitors from over 15 nations battling for honours in the esports discipline, the championship provided a highly competitive international stage for Malaysia’s sim racers.
The team’s participation was backed by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM), Esports Integrated (ESI) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the Malaysia Esports Accelerator Programme (MEAP).
Hosted by the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand (RAAT), APMC 2026 was held from Oct 23 to 25 and brought together motorsport athletes from across the Asia-Pacific region, who competed for gold, silver and bronze medals across five motorsport disciplines.
