Axle Sports has announced that they will be competing in both the LMP and GTE classes in the world’s premiere endurance sim racing series.

Here’s a first look at their livery as they prepare to fly the Malaysian flag high and represent Asia on the world stage. The season begins on 20 September 2021.

Axle Sports previously won second place at the Le Mans in June 2021. Alex Yoong is the founder of Axle Sports, and he’s notable for being the first Malaysian to race in Formula One with Minardi at the 2001 Italian Grand Prix. Axle Sports was founded in 2008, with the objective of finding innovative ways to cultivate motorsports as well as the young talent involved.

The Le Mans Virtual Series is a joint venture with Motorsport Games – a leading racing game developer, publisher and esports ecosystem provider of official motorsport racing series throughout the world  – and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) – the creators and organizers of the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and promoter of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), returns to competition this September with a new name, revised format, portfolio of prestige partners and an exciting live grand finale televised for all fans.

Following the notable success of last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual in June 2020, the newly re-named and expanded Le Mans Virtual Series will be a global, elite series made up of five rounds.

Motorsport Advisor to Motorsport Games, Gérard Neveu, commented on the launch of Le Mans Virtual Series:

“Last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual was a huge success, and we have an opportunity to do it even better this time!

This year, the event will further benefit the teams, partners and, of course, massive gaming and spectator audiences worldwide.

We are extremely pleased to have secured the support of such an impressive portfolio of partners, and we can’t wait to get started this season with the reveal next week of some top-class names on the entry list.”

The first four rounds, taking place between September and December, will be held strictly online, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual taking place as the climax of the premier endurance esports championship. The finale will be a live and televised event within the 2022 Autosport International motorsport show in Birmingham, UK on 15 and 16 January 2022, with 50 percent of the entire US$250,000 prize fund available for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual standalone race.

The calendar of events features some of the world’s most famous racetracks which will challenge all the drivers to their limits and is expected to thrill the millions of esports enthusiasts worldwide. The rounds will be:

• Round 1: 4 Hours of Monza, Italy on 25 September 2021
• Round 2: 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium on 16 October 2021
• Round 3: 8 Hours of Nürburgring, Germany on 13 November 2021
• Round 4: 6 Hours of Sebring, USA on 18 December 2021
• Round 5: 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual on 15/16 January 2022

The vision for the expanded virtual series is to be as prestigious and recognizable as the real-world FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its spotlight event. The esports series will continue to use rFactor 2 as its platform, which is more focused on the sim-racing audience and provides a more authentic experience. There will also be more focus on increased race and strategy analysis during broadcasts to boost fan interest and engagement.

Bringing together the elite of motor racing and sim racing to compete together, the field of 38 LMP and GTE full-season entries must have a line-up of up to five drivers, with a combination of FIA international licensed and sim drivers.