Nabil Azlan wins Assetto Corsa esports gold for Malaysia at Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship 2026

Malaysian sim racer Nabil Azlan won gold in the Assetto Corsa esports category at the Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship (APMC) 2026 at Bira Circuit in Pattaya, Thailand. The 24-year-old won his quarter-final, semi-final and final on Saturday, 24 October, and moved up from the silver he took in the iRacing category at the 2025 edition.

A clean run through the knockout rounds

The Royal Automobile Association of Thailand (RAAT) hosted APMC 2026 from 23 to 25 October. The championship gives gold, silver and bronze medals across several motorsport disciplines, including a sim-racing esports section.

Nabil switched from iRacing to Assetto Corsa this year and won every round he raced. Roadtrippers.asia and ENGEAR both report that he won the quarter-final, semi-final and final, so he took the title without going through any repechage or second-chance races.

He went to Thailand with a strong domestic record. Before the event he was the reigning Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia e-Racing Pro Class champion and had won the esports category at the 2026 MAM Festival of Speed.

How the rest of Team Malaysia fared

Malaysia sent four sim racers, all of whom earned their places by finishing in the top two of national qualifiers sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM).

• Iqbal Suji (28), Assetto Corsa: made his APMC debut, reached the final and finished sixth overall. His past results include reaching the finals of the Gran Turismo World Series 2023 Nations Cup and FIA Rally Star Asia Pacific.
• Raja Amirul Syauqat (22), iRacing: the 2026 MAM eRacing GP national champion started the final seventh. Contact with an Australian driver dropped him to the back of the field, and he recovered to finish ninth.
• Ethen Low (16), iRacing: the youngest esports competitor at the event reached the semi-finals but did not make the final. He leads the Rookies Championship at home and won the Young Dreamers category at the Porsche Esports Sprint Challenge Malaysia 2026.

Backing behind the squad

The four racers are supported by Esports Integrated (ESI) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through the Malaysia Esports Accelerator Programme (MEAP). Roadtrippers.asia notes that Malaysia has won gold in the APMC esports discipline at every edition since 2023, and Nabil's win continues that run.

Sim racing now sits inside Malaysia's national motorsport structure. MAM sanctions the esports qualifiers that pick the APMC team, and the athletes get government-backed support through MEAP.

What it means for Nabil

Nabil now has two APMC medals in two different sims, iRacing silver in 2025 and Assetto Corsa gold in 2026. Neither ENGEAR nor Roadtrippers.asia reports any official statement from Nabil or the Malaysian team about their next events.

Key takeaways

• Nabil Azlan won Assetto Corsa esports gold at APMC 2026 at Bira Circuit, Pattaya, Thailand.
• He won his quarter-final, semi-final and final on 24 October, a year after taking iRacing silver.
• Iqbal Suji finished sixth in the Assetto Corsa final on his APMC debut.
• Raja Amirul Syauqat came ninth in the iRacing final after a collision, and Ethen Low, 16, reached the iRacing semi-finals.
• The squad is supported by ESI and KBS through the Malaysia Esports Accelerator Programme.

FAQ

What is the Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship? It is a regional multi-discipline motorsport championship that awards medals. The 2026 edition was hosted by the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand at Bira Circuit from 23 to 25 October and included a sim-racing esports section.

Which game did Nabil Azlan win gold in? He won the Assetto Corsa esports category. He had won silver in the iRacing category at APMC 2025.

How were Malaysia's esports racers selected? All four finished in the top two of national qualifiers sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia.

Sources: Roadtrippers.asia, ENGEAR, Luminews, Yamchatime