Sphinx
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:: GT Academy Boot Camp Media Day - Silverstone ::
Today is media day at the Silverstone boot camp and all the finalists will be getting up bright eyed and bushy tailed for the day ahead. We've sent our very own GTP_Famine to Silverstone to meet all the finalists and organisers (Jardine International) and hopefully he'll be able to post back to GTP at some point if he can find a gap in tomorrows busy schedule.
I will update this post as the content comes in.
Feel free to discuss and post anything you find relating to media day at Silverstone.
Media Day - Report #1
GT Academy Boot Camp (Media Day)
February 26th, 2010 by Famine
Well, as a last minute replacement and completely-baffled newbie amongst serious publications reporters (I count the Daily Star, Ireland Daily Star, Times, Mail, AutoWeek and the BBC, amongst others), Im here at the GT Academy Boot Camp Media Day
The day kicked off at Whittlebury Hall with a press conference for the 18 lucky (okay, skilled) drivers, with media in attendance, given by GT Academy judges Rob Barff, Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz (yes, really). The concept of GT Academy, for those of us unaware of it to take a driver from the virtual world and put him in a race car in the real world was explained by Johnny before a short video from the 4th judge, none other than Eddie Irvine, and another short video from GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez.
The format was explained by Johnny eviction-style boot camp fun, whittling the field down to just 3 drivers over 5 days, who would then receive 2 months of intensive training before the final prize is given a seat in a Nissan 370Z GT4 class racer!
Rob explained the days activities before springing a surprise 10 minute written test on the drivers, after which the throng relocated to Silverstone.
At this point the GT Academy finalists were given a number of warm-up laps in a number of Nissan 370Zs on Silverstones Stowe Circuit, with an on-board instructor, before going for an individual superpole lap the results of which are yet to be revealed Then back to the Experience Centre for the ever-so-vital medical and fitness tests.
A brief break for lunch preceded the media being split into two groups and thrown into the same 370Zs the finalists drove one guided lap, followed by a number of instructed laps and then onto a head-to-head autocross course in Nissans R35 GT-Rs. As is typical, I was last to go and with no-one to go head-to-head with, who should step in but GT Academy champion Lucas Ordoñez! With a time of 37.93s on the final run, GTPlanets credentials were established as fastest publication (oh yes, you read that right).
As things stand at the moment, the drivers and the media (myself excepted the excitement of the 370Z hurt my hand) are at Milton Keyness Daytona karting circuit for a spell of endurance karting. Coming later on this evening will be a driver press-conference, during which the drivers will be subjected to a barrage of questions to determine their presence under fire
Watch this space for more news from the Boot Camp and hopefully some pictures, if the internet here permits!
GTP News Blog
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(no typo)
Thanks for that info (even if if it's just a possibility)! 👍 
