Ar Muhammad Aleef Mohamed Rafik, 24, is considered one of Singapore's most prominent sim racers. Read more at straitstimes.com.
SINGAPORE – On Aug 7, Ar Muhammad Aleef Mohamed Rafik travelled back in time to his childhood.
The movie, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Thursday, is based on the underdog tale of 31-year-old British professional racing driver Jann Mardenborough .Mardenborough transitioned from simulation racing to motorsport racing in 2011 through the GT Academy. Funded by Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment, it offered the best players of the Gran Turismo video games the opportunity to earn a real-life professional racing career with Nissan.
He also watched his idols’ racing videos on YouTube and tried to incorporate their racing styles into his simulation gaming, and, eventually, onto actual tracks – whether driving a Ferrari GT3 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2019, a go-kart at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in the same year or a Formula Renault 2.0 car at the Sepang circuit in 2022.
“But it is a very physically demanding sport. I had to do neck exercises to adjust to the G-force exerted when driving a race car. The inside of the race car is about 50 deg C. If you were to put a heart rate monitor on racing athletes, it would probably read 190 to 200 beats a minute.”Aleef, who studied mechatronics at Temasek Polytechnic, said he qualified for the GT Academy in 2015 when he was 17.
Aleef also came in seventh representing Singapore in the 2022 Fanatec FIA Motorsport Games Esports Cup, where he competed against other simulation racers from 57 countries in the Assetto Corsa Competizione simulator with a GT3 car. He said: “The best fan experiences are those with kids. They are very curious and would ask me how to do all sorts of manoeuvres in the game. I do my best to motivate them and provide as much knowledge as I can.
The brothers, who will work together as Aleef is the coach of the Singapore team, are naturally the pride of their supportive parents. Their father is a 52-year-old manager at an SME company, while their mother is a 48-year-old housewife. Aleef said: “Driving needs a lot of hand-eye coordination, stress management, time management and pressure management. I’ve used those coping techniques in my exams, and I apply the same analytical thinking I use when driving to my studies.”
For instance, Formula One stars like Max Verstappen, who won the 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, and Lando Norris advocate for the benefits of simulation racing. Malaysian Melvin Moh and Singaporean Lim Keong Wee founded the Legion of Racers in 2018. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MELVIN MOH
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