This year will see PETRONAS Yamaha SRT join the MotoGP eSport Championship with official eSport rider Muhammad Mulkana. Although Balikpapan-born “Kana” is a rookie in the eSport Global Series, his results in the Pro Draft have impressed.
The Pro Draft is the official selection phase of the competition with each player taking part in three online challenges using the Official MotoGP videogame. At the end of the three time trial tests Kana finished third in the Rest of the World standings – 1st Asian gamer – and was the top placed in the PC category, thanks to two first place finishes (Qatar and Austin) and a second place in Thailand.
The Indonesian gamer – who races under the handle Sanshoqueen – will now represent PETRONAS Yamaha SRT against 10 other eSport riders in an eight-race championship – Global Series – that will be held over four different MotoGP venues. Like MotoGP, gamers will receive points for their finishing position and the competitor with the highest points total after the eight races will be crowned 2020 MotoGP eSport Champion.
Both the team and Kana are eagerly anticipating the first round of the championship, which will be announced once Dorna has confirmed the new MotoGP calendar.
Razlan Razali – Team Principal
We are pleased to announce our first appointment of an eSport rider for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team with Kana. This is an extremely exciting time for eSports and for the team. We are looking forward to working with Kana to assist him to deliver the best performance possible. It’s clear that he is a fresh talent in the eSports arena and we’re looking forward to seeing him grow, alongside the interest in the team in the Indonesian market. We already have a lot of friends within the huge Indonesian MotoGP fanbase and we’re hoping that we can all celebrate some podiums with Kana soon.
Muhammad Mulkana
This really means a lot to me and I am so happy that I will be representing PETRONAS Yamaha SRT in the MotoGP eSport Championship. I won’t waste this opportunity! The Pro Draft selection was tough and I struggled a bit in the wet conditions of Thailand but in the end I managed to be the fastest rider on PC. I may be a rookie this year but I want to be MotoGP eSport World Champion! I want to fight for the podium and win as many races as possible. I’m training hard at the moment, about ten hours a day, and I can’t wait to meet the team, especially Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli as there are so many things that I want to talk about with them. Now, I’m just looking forward to getting racing!
