GT Academy 2011 - News & Announcements

GT ACADEMY 2011 - NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS​

Having made the dreams of another virtual racer come true in 2010, Nissan in Europe and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) reunite in 2011 to bring us the third installment of the prestigious GT Academy. With the recent global expansion of the GT Academy to include the USA, the European GT4 series success of previous winners Lucas Ordoñez (Spain) and Jordan Tresson (France) fresh in their minds and the emergence of GT Academy as a credible path into top-level motor sport, Academy hopefuls will be increasingly eager to follow in their footsteps and claim this year’s grand prize, a fully-supported drive in a Nissan 370Z GT4 car in the prestigious Dubai 24 Hour International race.

To claim the ultimate prize, competitors will once again face off against fellow gamers in a fiercely-contested time trial within Polyphony Digital’s ultra-realistic Gran Turismo 5 game on PlayStation 3 between Friday March 4th and Sunday April 17th across six territory groups in Europe.


The initial time trial stage will be followed by territorial finals for the top 20 in each region, where two lucky finalists from each territory will eventually progress to the GT Academy intensive six-day ‘Race Camp’ to be held at the hallowed Silverstone International Race Circuit. Race camp will consist of physical and driving trials starring the acclaimed Nissan GT-R and stunning 370Z sports cars. Finally, one would-be certified racer will graduate from the Race Camp and will continue to be trained in high-performance Nissan race cars and compete in a series of national-level races. The realisation of the dream will be to qualify for an international race licence and an entry into the Dubai race.

Residents from 10 European countries, combined into six territory groups, are eligible to take part in GT Academy 2011. They include: 1. Germany and Austria; 2. France and Switzerland; 3. UK and Ireland; 4. Spain and Portugal; 5. Italy; and 6. the Netherlands. Combining some of these territories together will undoubtedly increase the intensity of local competition if 2010’s 1.2 million participants are any indication of what’s to come, so now’s the time to start polishing your skills and preparing for what will undoubtedly be the most incredible opportunity of your Gran Turismo gaming lifetime!



All the best
Maz

GT ACADEMY 2011 - "THE RACING LINE"​

As of this week, I will be contributing in an ongoing fashion to the GT Academy Facebook page in the form of blog posts, interviews and other such content under the banner of "The Racing Line". These will be in an official capacity on behalf of GT Academy, so I won't be directly representing GTPlanet on there, but of course this role has come about as a result of my association with the online GT community (especially here at GTPlanet) and as a previous Academy national finalist. My hope is that anything I do for GT Academy on Facebook or elsewhere will in some way reflect positively upon GTPlanet, while at the same time lending credibility to my work for the Academy as a result of my history and background on these incredible well-respected forums. From the beginning, when this role was first offered to me, the organisers had every intention of having my work remain loyal to the community so as not to affect any credibility or integrity I may have at GTPlanet, and I hope to uphold those standards throughout the duration of this year's competition. I will update this post regularly with news of the latest blog posts on the Academy Facebook page, gran-turismo.com or anywhere else they are published.

- (23/02/11) [FACEBOOK] The Racing Line

- (25/02/11) [FACEBOOK] GT Academy Winner Jordan Tresson at Silverstone Supercar 2010

- (28/02/11) [FACEBOOK] Update 1.07 and GT Academy

- (10/03/11) [GRAN-TURISMO.COM] GT Academy: Play Like A Pro!

- (10/03/11) [GRAN-TURISMO.COM] Q&A with previous winners Lucas Ordoñez and Jordan Tresson


- (12/03/11) [FACEBOOK] GT Academy: Play Like A Pro!

- (12/03/11) [FACEBOOK] Q&A with previous winners: Lucas Ordoñez

- (17/03/11) [FACEBOOK] GT Academy Time Trial - First Impressions

- (21/03/11) [FACEBOOK] The Racing Line

- (25/03/11) [FACEBOOK] Q&A With Bob Neville, RJN Team Principal

- (11/04/11) [FACEBOOK] The Latest Time Trial Leaderboards

- (13/04/11) [FACEBOOK] The Latest Time Trial Leaderboards




All the best
Maz

GT ACADEMY 2011 - LUCAS ORDONEZ TO RACE IN LE MANS 24 HOURS​

Lucas Ordoñez, winner of the inaugural Nissan and PlayStation GT Academy competition in 2008, will demonstrate once again the success of the innovative gamer-to-racer competition when he lines up on the grid of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours this year. The 25-year-old Spaniard will contest the full Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in 2011 behind the wheel of a Nissan-powered LMP2 car for the Signatech Nissan team.

His extraordinary story will reach another climax on 11 and 12 June when he lines up to contest arguably the most famous race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the third round of the seven-race Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series.

In February 2011, Nissan announced that it would return to the Le Mans 24 Hours and join the exciting Intercontinental Le Mans Cup through a partnership with Signature Racing that will see the NISMO-tuned VK45V8 engine equip its LMP2 cars in 2011 and 2012.


For his part, Lucas is naturally thrilled to be given the opportunity to take to the legendary roads of Le Mans for the famous 24 Hour race.



All the best
Maz

GT ACADEMY 2011 TIME TRIAL GOES LIVE​

The GT Academy 2011 Time Trial goes live today. The virtual-to-real-racer competition will be contested across 10 European countries over a six-week period. With the opportunity to become a real racing driver at stake, virtual racers must sign up on www.gran-turismo.com to participate. The time trial competition will close at midnight on Sunday, 17 April, with competitors able to record as many laps as they want during the period.

The fastest 20 GT5 gamers from each participating territory will make it to the second phase of the competition - a live territory final event. Two gamers from each of the six territories will then progress to the intensive GT Academy Race Camp at the famous Silverstone circuit. They will be put through their paces in some demanding physical, mental and driving challenges. One winner will then be trained up to international race licence standard before competing in the prestigious Dubai International 24 Hour Race in a full race spec Nissan 370Z GT4.

The GT Academy 2011 Time Trial will be played out on a unique new track, known as ‘Eifel’, developed specifically in the innovative ‘Course Maker’ feature of the Gran Turismo5 game by creator Kazunori Yamauchi. The Time Trial will feature the Nissan 370Z (Z34). As a reward for taking part, entrants to GT Academy 2011 will also have the opportunity to download an exclusive new Nissan GT-R SpecV (GT Academy SPECIAL) model for general game play outside of the time trial.

A new feature will be added to this year’s Time Trial competition enabling the creation of ‘mini leagues’. As well as trying to prove themselves against the best GT5 racers in their country, players can also challenge friends in the Time Trial and compete for bragging rights.

“We are very excited about the start of GT Academy 2011. The concept of taking a Gran Turismo racer and turning them into a real racing driver has been proven to work by both of our exceptional previous winners, Lucas Ordoñez and Jordan Tresson. This is the real deal and not just a gimmick, and so we look forward to some fierce competition played out on GT5 over the next six weeks.

“I have enjoyed creating a new track for the Time Trial. I aimed for something that is a balance between technical and challenging for the very fastest drivers, while still accessible for anybody new to GT5. With the addition of the mini leagues functionality, we are aiming to make sure that everybody gets online and plays. Even if you are not going to make the top 20, it is always good to be able to beat your friends!” - Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc.​

In order to ensure that they can participate in GT Academy 2011, players must ensure that they have all the latest updates for GT5 installed. This should happen automatically when the game is opened while online, but players should check that they are running version 1.07 of GT5.

Due to national competition laws, the Italian territory will be able to access the GT Academy 2011 time trial from March 18th.



All the best
Maz

EXTRA PLACE UP FOR GRABS AT UK GT ACADEMY NATIONAL FINALS​

•Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment UK offer extra chance to join online gamers in 2011 GT Academy
•‘Wild Card’ competition to be held at Nissan Innovation Station at The O2
•Dubai 24 Hours seat in racing 370Z awaits overall GT Academy champion

Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment UK (SCE UK) are offering an exclusive, additional chance to join online gamers in the National Finals of the 2011 GT Academy, an innovative competition in which PlayStation®3 (PS3&#8482 users battle in an online time trial to win the ultimate gamer’s prize – a race seat in Nissan’s muscular 370Z for the Dubai 24 Hours.

Anyone with access to a PS3 with online capability and a copy of Gran Turismo®5 can take part in the GT Academy, but the ‘Wild Card’ slot offered by Nissan and SCE UK provides an additional route to the National Finals, to be held in May.

Competitors are invited to enter the ‘Wild Card’ contest, hosted at the Nissan Innovation Station at The O2, by registering at www.nissangtawildcard.co.uk for an entry slot between 10am and 8pm on either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd April, when they will complete a time trial using PS3 race pods.

Each entrant’s quickest lap of three will be recorded, with the best drivers from each of the three days winning a Logitech Driving Force GT™ steering wheel, the official wheel of Gran Turismo, which features force feedback and 900-degree wheel rotation. The best time overall across the three days will win the extra place at the National Finals.

The inaugural GT Academy, in 2008, was won by Spanish student Lucas Ordoñez, who was recently named as a member of Nissan’s Le Mans 24 Hours prototype sports car programme.

At the National Finals, participants will take part in a series of Gran Turismo 5 gaming heats. Additional non-gaming challenges that the National Finalists face will be unveiled in due course.

Two UK National Final victors will advance to the International Finals, to be held at Silverstone in June, when competitors will take to the track in Nissan’s 3.7-litre, 323bhp 370Z models.



The Nissan Innovation Station at The O2 is a free exhibition which features driving simulators, a virtual car design programme and interactive games that show visitors of all ages how electric vehicles can change the way people will drive and live in the future.

***UPDATE***​

Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment UK are pleased to announce the track and car chosen for the UK 'Wild Card' competition. The event is being hosted at The Nissan Innovation Station at The O2, London. In an effort to find the cream of British driving and gaming talent, GT Academy have chosen the demanding Suzuka circuit. The track's unique figure of eight lay out will prove a fitting challenge for novice and experienced drivers alike and will allow gamers to experience the full sensation of Gran Turismo®5. For what is recognised as one of the best driver's tracks in the world, there is only one car capable of this challenge: the Nissan GT-R! Each day, entrants will compete on PlayStation®3 race pods and their best lap of three will be entered (terms and conditions apply). Entry slots are available between 10am and 8pm on either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd April. The best times each day will win a Logitech Driving Force™ GT steering wheel and Nissan merchandise with the best overall time winning a place at the UK National Final.

This event takes part alongside the GT Academy 2011 Time Trial which is currently live until midnight, Sunday, 17 April. The virtual-to-real-racer competition has been contested across 10 European countries over the last month. With the opportunity to become a real racing driver at stake, virtual racers must sign up on www.gran-turismo.com to participate (terms and conditions of entry apply).



All the best
Maz

GAME STORES TO HOST UK GT ACADEMY WILDCARD CONTEST​

Sony Computer Entertainment UK (SCE UK) and Nissan have teamed up with the GAME retail chain to stage an additional chance to reach the National Finals of the 2011 GT Academy, the European racing competition that uses the full sensation of the Gran Turismo®5 game to find a real-world racing driver. The stakes are high, with an intensive race training programme and fully-supported drive in a Nissan 370Z GT4 car in the prestigious Dubai 24 Hour International race as the ultimate prize.

The GT Academy online gaming phase is currently live and will end on the 17th of April, but the ‘Wildcard’ competition hosted at GAME stores, provides an additional route to the UK National Finals. The venues and dates for the ‘Wild Card’ contest include:

• April 8th - Manchester - Trafford Centre - 11am - 7pm
• April 9th - Norwich - 10am - 5pm
• April 15th - Glasgow - Silverburn Shopping Centre - 11am - 7pm
• April 16th - Reading - The Oracle Shopping Centre - 10am - 6pm

Entrants will be invited to take part in a GT5 time trial challenge. The best drivers from each GAME store will win exclusive GT5 prizes. The best time overall across the four Wildcard events will win the extra place at the GT Academy National Finals.

Tensions at the National Final in May will be running high as the cream of PlayStation 3 racers battle each other across a series of Gran Turismo 5 challenges. Marking a first for GT Academy, the National Finalists will also face additional non-gaming challenges, details of which will be unveiled in due course.

Two UK National Final victors will advance to Silverstone Circuit for the GT Academy Race Camp, staged in June. They will have a chance to transfer their GT5 skills onto the real race track driving an array of Nissan cars, such as the 3.7-litre, 323bhp 370Z model, while also being judged on their fitness and mental attitude by a range of racing experts.


Demonstrating the success of the GT Academy programme, Lucas Ordoñez, the inaugural winner from 2008, is currently competing in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and recently scored an impressive 2nd place in the LMP2 class with the Signatech Oreca-Nissan team at the 12hr of Sebring. In June, Lucas and the team will tackle the world famous Le Mans 24 Hours.




All the best
Maz

GT ACADEMY 2011 - JORDAN TRESSON TO RACE IN BLANCPAIN ENDURANCE SERIES​

Jordan Tresson will once again carry the hopes and dreams of a generation of Gran Turismo®5 gamers when he competes in this year’s Blancpain Endurance Series. The 22-year-old French driver will be in familiar surroundings as he races the RJN run Nissan 370Z in the GT4 Class. Tresson, winner of the second Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy competition in 2010, will once again demonstrate the success of the innovative gamer-to-racer competition when he races in the season openers at Monza, Italy on 17 April.

Building on the success of the first GT Academy in 2008, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and Nissan in Europe sought to find the fastest gamer and transform them into a fully-fledged, professional racing driver. Jordan Tresson took on over 1 million PlayStation®3 (PS3™) gamers from all four corners of the globe to win the largest prize in the gaming world; a full season with RJN Motorsport in the European GT4 Cup. Tresson endured physical, mental and driving challenges as he battled through the exhaustive selection process, eventually taking the 2010 GT Academy Title and with it, a fully funded Nissan drive in the 2010 FIA GT4 Cup

Tresson made a successful transition from gamer to GT driver in the 2010 season, putting in some impressive performances out on track. The GT Academy winner scored a podium at the Portuguese round and finished the hard fought series in 4th position overall.



The Blancpain Endurance Series consists of five races in 2011. The inaugural season is centred around GT racing’s show case event, the Total 24 Hours of Spa. The remaining three-hour events will take place at high-powered Monza, in Italy, Spain’s new Navarra circuit ; France’s popular and classic Magny Cours and the home of British Motorsport, Silverstone.


- Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Flickr -[/CENTER]

All the best
Maz

Nissan and PlayStation® GT Academy Time Trial ends at midnight GMT on Sunday, 17th April​

It’s not too late to win your chance to be a professional racing driver
National pride is at stake!
Register at www.gran-turismo.com (terms and conditions apply)
​

The GT Academy 2011 Time Trial will end at midnight GMT this Sunday (17th April). The competition, that aims to turn a gamer into a real-life racing driver, has seen entrants slugging it out since 4th March on a specially designed circuit on PlayStation®’s Gran Turismo®5 game. Holders of the fastest 20 lap times in each participating territory will be invited to take part in a live National Final event with two winners from each progressing to the Race Camp at the famous Silverstone circuit. The overall winner will undergo an intensive race training programme in order to qualify for an international race licence and the chance to race in the prestigious Dubai 24 Hour International Race in a Nissan 370Z GT4 car.

As well as the incredible prize, there is also an element of national pride at play. So far, France/Switzerland is dominating the leaderboard with 21 of the fastest 50 times across all territories coming from that region. Spain and Portugal are next with 15 and UK/Ireland have nine competitors in the overall top 50. At this stage, the Netherlands does not have a top 50 time while Italy only has three and Germany/Austria has two. With a few days left, this situation could yet be evened out!

The fastest qualifying times, i.e. the 20th fastest time in each territory, mirror the above league table, but there is a slight shift in the order when average top 10 times from each country are calculated:

20th fastest time (qualifying time) per territory:

1. 2’16.978(FR/CH)
2. 2’17.196 (ES/PT)
3. 2’17.359 (GB/IE)
4. 2’17.448 (IT)
5. 2’17.491 (DE/AT)
6. 2’17.745 (NL)

Average top 10 times per territory:

1. 2’16.687(FR/CH)
2. 2’16.736(ES/PT)
3. 2’16.868(GB/IE)
4. 2’17.091(DE/AT)
5. 2’17.104 (IT)
6. 2’17.469(NL)

Note: Times date from midday on Tuesday, 12 April and may have changed

"We have had a great response to GT Academy 2011 as people now recognise it as a serious competition to give them a fast track into top-level motor sport. We are now close to the end of phase one, but it is still not too late to enter the competition for a chance to take the wheel of some fantastic Nissan cars. It is interesting to see that the French/Swiss territory is proving to be so fast. I am sure there are plenty of people out there who might like to try and redress the balance between now and Sunday for a little bit of national glory! It costs nothing and is easy to give it a go on GT5.” - Penrose Tackie, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Gran Turismo product manager ​

All the best
Maz

Over 90,000 enter Nissan and PlayStation® GT Academy Time Trial
-Time Trial is now closed
-Territory national finals to feature real driving and physical test for the first time​

The GT Academy 2011 Time Trial has now closed. Over 90,000 racing driver hopefuls from across Europe recorded laps on the specially-designed track in a ‘virtual’ Nissan 370Z on the Gran Turismo®5 game. The competition will see the eventual winner being trained up to international race licence standards and potentially competing in the prestigious Dubai International 24 Hour race in January, 2012 in a full race-spec Nissan 370Z GT4 car.

The fastest 20 Gran Turismo ® 5 gamers from each of the participating territories, spanning 10 European countries, will meet up over the next few weeks for six live territory final events. In each case they will be joined by up to four ‘wildcard’ competitors chosen through a variety of competition mechanics. The six territories are made up of: Germany and Austria; France and Switzerland; UK and Ireland; Spain and Portugal; Italy; and the Netherlands. The events will take place in a variety of locations and will feature live, multi-player Gran Turismo 5 racing on the PlayStation®3, the test of race craft likely to catch out some of the ultra-fast time trial specialists. In addition, the GT Academy territory finalists will, for the first time, be subjected to physical tests and some real life driving in Nissan 370Zs, preparing them for some of the trials that will face the winning two contestants from each territory who progress to Silverstone for the GT Academy Racecamp in June.

With basic driving and fitness levels having already been put to the test during the territory finals, the competition at Racecamp will be fierce. The 12 competitors will be assessed in a series of driving, physical and mental challenges under the watchful eye of some experienced judges.

The 2011 GT Academy Time Trial attracted the most entries from the UK closely followed by France and Spain. In performance terms, it was the French who dominated with the fastest two drivers and four of the top 10, and the largest number in the top 50. A Spanish driver was third quickest overall, and one of three Spaniards in the top 10. The remainder of the top 10 was made up of a German (fifth), an Italian (sixth) and a British driver (eighth fastest).

The fierce competition on the time trial saw 145 gamers setting times within one second of the fastest driver. Hours of practice meant a few positional changes late on Sunday night as the competitors kept pushing right up to the deadline to better their lap times and gain that all-important top 20 finishing position.

“It has been fun to keep an eye on the GT Academy 2011 leaderboards,” said Sony Computer Entertainment’s Gran Turismo brand manager Penrose Tackie. “There have been some extremely impressive lap times going on and it has been very close. Special mention should be made of some of the drivers who, due to the fact that they have attended the Silverstone race camp in either 2008 or last year, are not eligible to go further in the competition this year but have still showed incredible speed and determination in the time trial. Most notable among these is Arnaud Lacombe from France, who has topped the time trial phase of GT Academy for all three editions of the competition now.

“Congratulations to him and to all of those who now progress to their territory final events. As in the real world, racing and qualifying are two different things on Gran Turimso® 5 and we often see people who were quick on the time trial caught out in the live racing of the territory finals. So now we look forward to more excitement during the second phase of the competition. We have some great venues and great challenges ahead.”​

Nissan in Europe’s Sports Car programme manager Sylvia Mink is also excited about the forthcoming territory finals as it will see real-life Nissan hardware come into play for the first time: “We have changed the format of the territory finals this year to include an actual driving element for the first time. It will be quite interesting to see the competitors come directly from racing each other on PS3 to driving a real 370Z car. We felt that it was quite important to make this change to try to ensure that when we get to Silverstone all 12 competitors have an equal chance of winning GT Academy. In the past we have discovered quite a big difference in ability behind the wheel when we arrived at Silverstone.

“I would like to add my congratulations to all of those who have qualified for the national finals and thank everyone that has taken part so far in GT Academy 2011. The competition moves on, but there is still plenty of excitement and lots to compete for so I would encourage everyone to keep following the action on our Facebook page.”​

All the best
Maz

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup drivers unite to support the 'Tsunami Appeal Virtual Challenge'‏​

On Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup drivers Neel Jani from Rebellion Racing and Lucas Ordoñez from Signature Nissan, will be hosting a ‘Virtual Gran Turismo®5 Challenge’ at Spa Francorchamps 1000km to help raise money for the Japanese Red Cross Tsunami appeal.

The ‘Tsunami Appeal Virtual Challenge’ originated from Twitter messages linked to the 2011 Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy, the European racing competition that uses the GT5™ game to find a real-world racing driver. Whilst GT Academy is only open to gamers without previous racing experience, tweets were also sent to sports car drivers from around the world to discover who are the quickest professional drivers on GT5.

The challenge on Twitter inspired Neel Jani from Rebellion Racing and his teammate Guy Smith to lay down the gauntlet to the inaugural winner of the 2008 GT Academy - Lucas Ordoñez. In just three years, the 26-year-old from Spain has graduated from console racer to Le Mans 24 Hours driver. Both Jani and Ordoñez came up with the idea of using the occasion to help raise funds for this worthy cause.

As part of the build up to this weekend’s race at the famous Spa circuit, on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May, motor sport fans will be invited to visit the Spa Entertainment Village, where they can donate €10 to race against Intercontinental Le Mans Cup drivers on the GT5 race seats. The public will pit their wits against the pros over two laps on the PlayStation 3 virtual Le Mans La Sarthe Circuit. Fans will also be invited to make a charity donation to complete virtual laps of Spa Francorchamps using Com’In Sport Motion simulators.

“For sure this is a great idea and it makes sense to get the drivers to come together so we can do our part to make a difference to the Tsunami Appeal.

“We hope many of the drivers and teams will dedicate time and support to this noble cause of the Red Cross Appeal for Japan. We have support from SpeedChills and partnered with PlayStation and Com’In Sport who will be able to make the ‘Tsunami Appeal Virtual Challenge’ a reality with their gaming simulators.” - Rebellion Racing driver Neel Jani​

"This weekend's event to support the Japanese Red Cross will be impressive. We aim to raise as much money as possible for this worthy cause. The people of Japan are still being affected by the horrible events of March 11th. We expect many drivers will taking part, including the Audi, Peugeot, Lola and Oreca drivers as well as my teammates from Signatech Nissan. This will be a unique opportunity for motor sport fans to have a chance to race against their favourite driver on GT5.” - Signature Nissan driver Lucas Ordoñez​

Motor sport fans can find out more about the Virtual Challenge by visiting: http://www.facebook.com/TsunamiAppealVirtualChallenge




All the best
Maz

BRITISH DRIVER JANN MARDENBOROUGH CROWNED GT ACADEMY 2011 CHAMPION​

* 19-year-old from Cardiff wins the opportunity to be the next virtual-to-real racing driver *​

Silverstone, Thursday 16 June 2011 – The 2011 GT Academy Race Camp drew to a thrilling conclusion today when 19-year-old Jann Mardenborough from Cardiff took the chequered flag in a four-way, 20-minute race on Silverstone’s national circuit. Pole position and the race win in the Nissan 370Z was enough to satisfy Head Judge Eddie Irvine that Jann was a worthy winner of GT Academy 2011 – a collaboration between Nissan and PlayStation® that saw over 90,000 people from 10 European countries take part on the Gran Turismo®5 game.

Jann will now begin an intensive Driver Development Programme and compete in a number of UK national races to enable him to qualify for an International race licence. In January, 2012 he will line up on the grid of the Dubai 24 Hour race in a Nissan 370Z GT4 car – the ultimate prize in what has become the ultimate racing competition since its inception in 2008.

Thibault Lacombe (FRA), Carlos Murillo (ESP) and Danilo Bordino (ITA) finished in that order behind Jann in both the race and the overall competition. These four had been selected earlier in the day by Irvine for the final race challenge. Sascha Meyenborg (DEU) and Thomas Arends (NED) had been eliminated after their first taste of driving a real GT4 race car around Silverstone’s Stowe Circuit.

Race Camp started on Friday, 10th June at the famous Le Mans 24 Hour race where the 12 super-quick gamers gathered to watch Lucas Ordoñez, winner of the first Academy, complete his journey from the virtual world of PlayStation®3 to become a real racing driver.
Lucas and his Signatech Nissan teammates – Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari – clearly demonstrated to the GT Academy finalists the potential of the programme when they took second place in the LMP2 class. To graduate from PlayStation gamer to the Le Mans 24H podium in less than three years is an incredible achievement.

The 2011 Race Camp held a variety of challenges that included karting, driving Nissan 370Zs, GT-Rs and single-seaters, high-pressure pursuits, a military-style assault course, driving a full race-spec GT4 car and even aerial dog-fights in stunt planes.

“I am really buzzing, ecstatic,” said a jubilant Jann. “This competition is going to change my life massively. I can’t imagine, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m not sure about the next Lewis Hamilton, but being the next Lucas Ordoñez would be a pretty good start.

“This whole experience has been amazing and I would like to thank everyone involved, especially, PlayStation and Nissan. A massive thank you to my mentor this week, Johnny Herbert. He is amazing. Such a great guy and a great teacher.”

Four-time Formula One winner and Head Judge Eddie Irvine said: “I have been surprised by this experience. When I arrived, I saw there was some work to do, but the six that made it through to the final day did so because they reacted positively and showed some real grit and determination.

“Jann did a great job throughout and the final decision turned out to be fairly straight forward. He has been given an amazing opportunity by PlayStation and Nissan, but the hard work has only just begun for him. Even with this head start, making a career in racing is tough and he’ll have to have talent, determination and luck in pretty much equal measure if he is to make it. I’ll keep an eye on him and hope he doesn’t let me down.”




All the best
Maz