Like it or not, e-sports are becoming an important part of modern society, and with COVID-19 emptying out stadiums, they’re probably going to become the norm before long. So if you haven’t already been picking up on who the biggest ‘e-athletes’ are, well here’s one that you should start keeping tabs on – Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira.
This Malaysian just won 2nd place at the GR Supra GT Cup Asia regional e-Motorsports competition that was organised by Toyota Motor Asia Pacific. Him and two other Malaysians (Muhammad Iqbal Ahmad Suji and Meow Hafiz) who were best at the Velocity Esports Championship represented the country at this regional competition.
Taj Aiman isn’t just taking home the glory, he won himself a nice little prize of US$3,000 too. He went up against competitors from Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and India.
Here’s the press release with more information.
PRESS RELEASE
Malaysia’s Taj Izrin Aiman Taj Madira did the nation proud by finishing second overall and clinching a winner’s purse of US$3,000 in the inaugural GR Supra GT Cup Asia regional e-Motorsports competition.
Taj Aiman was the best of the Malaysian virtual racers with team mates Muhammad Iqbal Ahmad Suji finishing in fourth position, while the third Malaysian representative Meor Hafiz finished the race as 15th best.
Organized by Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) and decided over three challenging races driving identical GR Supra RZ20 race cars, the GR Supra GT Cup Asia brought together 15 best national qualifiers across five countries – Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and India.
Singapore’s AR Muhammad Aleef was crowned the overall champion taking home a handsome grand prize of US$6,000 with Thailand’s Nathayos Sirigaya finishing third with a purse of US$1,500.
The Malaysian campaign began promisingly in Race 1 at the Fuji International Speedway with Iqbal Suji and Taj Aiman finishing the seven-lap race in second and third positions respectively.
Singaporean Muhammad Aleef led the race from start to finish, taking the chequered flag six seconds ahead of the field. Taj Aiman, who is also the Toyota GR Velocity Esports Championship champion, made an early challenge for the lead in the opening stages of the race but a mistake forced him to incur a 1-second penalty, elevating Iqbal to second position.
Muhammad Aleef also went on to take the victory in Race 2 at the Tokyo Espressway street circuit, with Sirigaya finishing second, Filipino Terence Lallave coming in third, Taj Aiman clinching fourth and another Singaporean Jason Tay rounding up the top five finishers. Iqbal Suji completed the five-lap race around the 7.3km circuit in seventh with Meor Hafiz finishing in 14th place.
