Australian virtual racing prodigy, Taylor "LagALot IG" Smith, succeeded in claiming the championship title of the inaugural Porsche Asia Pacific Forza Cup, after overtaking fellow countryman, Geoff "LSEM" Newton, by one mere point more in the final race - a close-call for a truly rewarding victory.

As the champion of the first ever regional esports tournament by Porsche Asia Pacific and Porsche Australia, in partnership with Forza Motorsport, the 23-year-old scored a lifetime opportunity to race on the iconic Hockenheimring racing circuit in real-life, on an all-expenses-paid driving programme at the recently developed Porsche Experience Centre in Germany next year, to further his virtual/real-life motorsports career. Hopefully, COVID-19 will be curbed a lot more by then.

The Porsche Asia Pacific Forza Cup saw almost 400 virtual racers from 14 countries participating in the five-track competition, racing in the digital driver's seat of three iconic Porsche cars - the 918 Spyder, 919 Hybrid and 911 GT3 RS - across the world's toughest racing tracks of Bathurst, the Nurburgring and Le Mans. Even Claire Jedrek and Yuey Tan, household names in the Asian motorsports scene, served as commentators for the Grand Finals, which was broadcasted live from Singapore last Saturday.

The Grand Finals saw 16 top virtual racers from Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand racing for victory in the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, on the historical circuits of Silverstone and the Hockenheimring. All finalists were rewarded with prizes from the Porsche Driver’s Selection and HUGO BOSS, who sponsored the Porsche Asia Pacific Forza Cup.

Fret not, virtual racing fans, because the digital racing esports scene never stops. The premier sim racing series of E1 Championship is just around the corner, pitting 12 top racing teams across 16 countries in the Asia Pacific. The winner will not only bag the lion's share of the US$15,000 prize pool, but also bragging rights as the best virtual racer in the Asia Pacific. Did we mention that it's organised by yours truly, Axle Esports and Astro?

For more information on E1, herein lies our coverage of the tournament.