Sphinx
Staff Emeritus
- 6,724
- England
- GTP_Sphinx
:: GT Academy Boot Camp - Day Four Report ::
GT Academy NewsThe Driving Gets Faster and the Competition Harder at GT Academy
Final four battle it out at Nissan and PlayStation®’s GT Academy 2010
Silverstone, Monday 1 March 2010 – With the famous Silverstone Circuit bathed in sunshine today (Monday), the GT Academy 2010 action hotted up once more. The final four Gran Turismo® racers in the competition had an incredible day of on-and-off track action. Jordan Tresson from France, Marco Calvo from Spain, Luca Lorenzini from Italy and Daniel Collins from Ireland were pitted directly against each other in a series of challenges designed to unearth the racing driver with the most potential to succeed in the European GT4 Cup race series.
First up were tense ‘dog-fights’ on Stowe circuit in the Nissan 370Zs. With the drivers starting at opposite points on the circuit, this was a pursuit race. After entertaining races between Marco and Luca and Jordan and Daniel, the French and Italian drivers emerged as the finalists, with Luca taking the win. The third place race-off was won by Daniel over Marco after the Spaniard spun.
Physical fitness is vital to any racing driver and has played an important part in GT Academy. A ‘bleep’ test – where the contestants undertake shuttle runs with an ever-decreasing time limit between each one – was won by the ultra-fit Jordan, who carried on well beyond his competition. Carrying a leg injury from the previous day’s assault course, Daniel saw it through to be second. Marco was second to be eliminated for failing to keep up with the ‘bleeps’, thus finishing third. Luca was the first one out, and so last.
Staying on Stowe circuit, the four contestants had the opportunity to take the wheel of the GT-R in race mode. With judge and lead instructor Rob Barff monitoring their progress from inside the cockpit, Formula One Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert drove his old team-boss Eddie Jordan in a second GT-R to scrutinise their racing lines at close quarters...sometimes inches!!! As well as being able to assess the drivers, the exercise proved useful for putting the drivers under pressure with Herbert all over their tails at high speed. Overall the contestants were judged on their consistency and speed over five laps.
The afternoon saw a fascinating knockout session played out on the National circuit. Each competitor drove the 370Z for a ten minute ‘qualifying’ session. The drivers then switched to Silverstone’s single-seaters. The driver with the worst combined qualifying time was eliminated and the remaining drivers repeated the exercise until the winner emerged. The test of driving versatility and speed was won by Italian Luca Lorenzini. Jordan Tresson was second, Daniel Collins third and Spaniard Marco Calvo was the first driver eliminated having struggled in the single-seater.
A second ‘press conference’ challenge, confirmed that the four finalists had all paid attention to Louise Goodman’s media masterclass. All four contestants put in excellent performances and responded well to some difficult questions – all in English.
“I was so impressed with all of them in the press conference,” said two-time Nürburgring 24 Hour winner Sabine Schmitz. “On the track it has been a very interesting day. To see them driving real cars with no traction control has impressed me. The GT-R is a very fast car and it not easy to go as quickly as they did. They even managed to get Johnny Herbert into trouble while he was chasing them, which was funny! I am enjoying this process enormously. It is a fantastic event and really big fun.”
Rob Barff was delighted to get some dry track time today: “The first dry day has given us a great opportunity to assess the drivers in a different environment. Jordan Tresson has excelled in fitness. Luca has been driving incredibly fast this afternoon. Daniel Collins just continues to improve with every lap. Marco Calvo definitely enjoyed the wet conditions, but he did struggle a little this afternoon. But tomorrow’s another day and there is still a lot left to run in this competition. GT Academy 2010 has been brilliant. It has proved again that this crazy idea really can work!”
The GT Academy 2010 enters its final day tomorrow (Tuesday) when the four finalists will enjoy the most exciting on-track action of the competition so far before the ultimate judgement is made.
DAY FOUR DRIVER QUOTES
Jordan Tresson, France
Marco Calvo, Spain
Luca Lorenzini, Italy
Daniel Collins, Ireland
Last edited:
