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GT Academy winners Jordan Tresson and Lucas Ordoñez at Silverstone Supercar 2010
RJN Motorsports Nissan 370Z GT4 car
April 30th to May 2nd 2010 saw the arrival of the Silverstone Supercar festival to the historic and famous Northamptonshire race circuit in England. The FIA GT1 World Championship teams would be competing for the prestigious Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy, with the FIA European GT3 championship, Cooper Tires British F3 and European GT4 championships sharing the bill. This was to be the first international racing event on the newly unveiled Arena section of the full Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit. Another significant unveiling that weekend was that of Nissan and Sony PlayStation GT Academy 2010 winner Jordan Tresson who would be competing in his first European GT4 cup event of the season for RJN Motorsports, following in the footsteps of inaugural GT Academy champion, Lucas Ordoñez. For this year, Tresson will be driving the new Nissan 370Z GT4 car alongside long-time pro driver Alex Buncombe, while Ordoñez will initially pilot last year's 350Z for the Silverstone event, then occupy the second of RJN's Nissan 370Z GT4 cars from Round 2 at Spa Francorchamps in June.
Following GTPlanet's close association with Jardine International throughout the Academy stages, a representative from GTPlanet was invited to go to Silverstone and participate in a meet and greet session with Jordan Tresson. I was fortunate enough to be available, and when Rupert Williamson at Jardine recalled I was one of the UK finalists, he proposed integration into the team for the whole weekend where I would get to spend significant time with Jordan and Lucas Ordoñez and really experience the race event with RJN Motorsports. With a press pass sorted courtesy of the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO), I would have tremendous access to the various stages of the weekend's proceedings.
Jordan Tresson on the Silverstone pit wall during a GT4 race
I had already met Lucas Ordoñez at the UK GT Academy National Finals and found him to be very talkative and available, very relaxed. Arriving at the RJN Motorsports motorhome on Saturday before GT4 qualifying, I was greeted again by Lucas and he very much now looks the part of a professional racing driver, fresh from securing a deal to race for 2010. First impressions of Jordan reveal an incredibly focused and intense individual, very purposeful and not at all out of place among the paddock and more importantly, in the team. Speaking to Gavin Gough, sports psychologist and NLP practitioner for GT Academy and RJN, it became clear that he possesses significant mental strength and confidence, yet devoid of arrogance and ego. Gough felt that from the very earliest stages of the Academy final Jordan had marked himself out as one of the favourites.
Celebrating his 22nd birthday on race weekend, Jordan found time to sit down with me for an interview after GT4 qualifying.
Maziar Shahsafdari: First of all, congratulations on behalf of GTPlanet and the Gran Turismo community for winning GT Academy 2010, a fantastic achievement.
Jordan Tresson: Thank You.
MS: How has your preparation been for this first European GT4 race of the season?
JT: No specific preparations, just physical training. I just chill out and relax, relax as much as possible in the car and that’s all.
MS: Do you feel that Lucas’s success last year has made it easier for you to come into the team and be comfortable, or does it make it harder because he was successful last year?
JT: I think it is both, because of course he was successful, but the team is now used to having new drivers so they can cope with that and give me advice like they did for Lucas. So, yes it’s a good advantage, but before his first race Lucas did the Dubai 24 hours and it was a big experience for him and good for the championship after. I don’t have this experience but of course I will try to improve as fast as I can, and we will see the result at the end.
MS: Did you have the same mental approach from the beginning, when you were sitting at home on your PS3, did it change when you reached the Academy? When did it get really serious?
JT: In the beginning it was just for fun, I knew I could qualify in the French top 20 and I came 18th. I thought it would be a good time at the French final, meet some friends and so on because I knew the Lacombe brothers and some other guys. But in my mind, I thought I would stop in the French final because the level is so high, especially with Arnaud and all the top 5 guys, so so fast, but it was a good surprise. For Silverstone, I thought we will see, as I didn’t know any of the other guys or if anybody could cope with the real cars, and I was among the fastest which was good for me. So from the beginning to the end it was a nice surprise, at every step.
MS: As soon as you got to Silverstone it was very clear that your fitness was excellent and you had good karting experience. When you won the karting, in the first two days, were you confident that you could win the Academy?
JT: It’s hard to say, because on the first day I wouldn’t have said “yeah I will be one of the two winners”. But, each evening with the eliminations I was quite confident to be one of the guys who would remain.
It was very interesting to hear Jordan say he was pleasantly surprised because while it is obvious that he is relaxed yet focused, Gough's analysis of his mental capabilities and strength was that of a young man accustomed to success and this sentiment is echoed by Jordan's parents. Speaking to them in the motorhome, I found out that Jordan achieved his Baccalauréat (French secondary school diploma) a year earlier than most and had been earmarked for success by his tutors from a very young age.
Jordan preparing for GT4 qualifying
MS: How did you prepare for the Silverstone boot camp? Did you do your normal physical training or more running?
JT: Yeah I would physically train but nothing particular like buy some time to race Formula 3 for experience or anything like that. I thought I will just go to Silverstone and see what I will do there.
MS: It’s well known that drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Jacques Villeneuve, even though they are professional racing drivers, they still find time to race online. Do you think now that you are a pro racing driver you will still find time to experience Gran Turismo 5 when it’s finally released?
JT: Yeah, I hope to find time. I love all the Gran Turismo games. If I’ve got time I will play the game when it’s released for sure. I only have six race meetings this season [in European GT4] so I’m sure I will have time to play online.
MS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
JT: I’d like to stay in motorsport, but there has to be a budget which can be really tough. My main goal is to stay in this world. I am still a student of engineering, so maybe if I can’t stay here I will be an engineer at races and so on, but now I’m a race driver I want to stay here!
MS: Would you be aiming for GT3 then GT1?
JT: Yeah of course but first it’s important for me to have experience just in GT cars, after that, why not climb the ladder?
MS: Has the experience of driving a real race car been anything like you expected?
JT: I wouldn’t call it strange, but compared to driving a 370Z stock car it’s completely different. It’s a real race car, but the car reacts the way it does in Gran Turismo, but you don’t have any feeling in the game. In the race car you have feeling in your seat and not just in the steering wheel. It’s very different as it’s not just your eyes that tell you where to brake etc, it’s your feeling and your brain.
MS: Do you think this will make you a better Gran Turismo driver?
JT: It’s hard to say because it’s two different worlds. Sometimes you brake with a feeling you get, not when you see a trackside board. I haven’t played Gran Turismo for the moment, after Silverstone as there has been no time, but I’ll try after and maybe it can help me in the game to develop some new skills.
MS: What advice would you give to all the Gran Turismo hopefuls who will enter the Academy again next time on PS3?
JT: First of all you have to be mentally strong and focus on what you have to do, it’s important not to be stressed. If you are stressed you will lose all your skills and in the car you will be very slow. Focus on what you have to do and be very smooth and gentle with the car. Feel the car, feel the grip on the car, when to put your foot down and when you can’t, when to brake and when to come off the brake.
Sports psychologist Gavin Gough running Jordan through his mental preparation and visualisation
Shifting the focus back to gaming allowed me to see that Jordan shares the same mild amusement as the members of this forum at the frustrating wait for Gran Turismo 5. I also received a very interesting look, a raised eyebrow and a smile later that day from Charlotte Panther who is responsible for PR at Sony Entertainment Europe when I ventured that GT5's delay could be a result of financial year considerations and the launch of 3DTV.
During the interview Jordan took it very seriously and generally gave off the vibe that he was here to do a job this weekend, I was aware that my questions needed to be relevant and not without a specific purpose or logic or a waste of anyone's time. I was pleased to see after the formal interview, when Jordan was told I had been in the UK finals of the Academy, he came over and we chatted like a couple of gamers, sharing amusing stories from our respective events. This evidenced what Gough had said earlier to me about Jordan's intense exterior mistakenly giving the impression of remoteness, however not far beneath lay a warm personality much like Lucas. Having lunch with Jordan and watching the GT1 race later in the weekend confirmed that warmth and a deep love of motorsport, cars and racing.
Jordan discussing race strategy with Alex Buncombe
MS: Have Lucas or Alex given you any good advice for your first year?
JT: Yes, we talk together and they give me advice to help me to improve. We are teammates so that is their role and they want me to improve, so I will try to stick with them and take their advice on who and what to be careful of.
MS: When did you first become interested in motorsport and who is your inspiration?
JT: I think I’ve been interested in motorsport since I was around 8 or 9 years old. I started karting when I was 10 years old. The first Formula 1 season I really watched was 1997 when I was 9 and I always wanted to be a race driver so this is a dream come true. My inspiration is Ayrton Senna the F1 driver, but I love all motorsports in general.
MS: How much support do you get back in France?
JT: It’s good, there are some websites like GT5rs and I have some friends in school who support me and family of course. I have received some mail on Facebook with people congratulating me and wishing me well, it’s really nice to see this support.
MS: Looking at the calendar, you will be racing at Spa Francorchamps, Portimao, Nurburgring, Paul Ricard, Magny Cours etc, where are you most excited about racing?
JT: It’s hard to say because I know the tracks, well I haven’t raced on them, but Spa and Nurburgring are quite close for me and I already went to Paul Ricard and Magny Cours in France. So maybe Algarve (Portimao), I love the track but have only seen it in videos, the track seems quite amazing. So maybe Algarve.
MS: How close do you hope to be this weekend to Alex’s pace?
JT: I think if I am 2 seconds per lap slower than Alex I will be quite happy. I started 4 seconds behind Alex, so if I improve to around 2 seconds a lap slower by the end of the second race this weekend that will be good. By the end of the season, hopefully 5 tenths or something like that?
MS: Thank you for your time and we wish you all the best.
JT: You’re welcome.
Speaking to Alex Buncombe who was of course Euro GT4 runner-up with Lucas last year, he said that having worked with Lucas for a year he was happy to work with Jordan this year, especially as Lucas had done much to promote the credentials of GT Academy winners. He also mentioned that so far Jordan has not asked as many questions or come to him for as much advice as Lucas did initially, but he expects that to change over time. For a more traditional racing driver like Buncombe whose father and grandfather were also professional drivers, it's quite an endorsement for GT Academy to have him work so willingly with its champions. Darren Cox, who along with Kazunori is a man responsible for much of GT Academy's inception and execution as Nissan Europe's brand promotion and interactive marketing manager, has recently been promoted and fully believes the success of the competition will continue. I would have been interested to ask Rob Barff if he would prefer to continue producing winners or spend the next year or so concentrating on developing the careers of Tresson and Ordoñez.
As far as results go, it was a difficult weekend for Buncombe and Tresson in the #1 370Z:
"Jordan Tresson was given a taste of the harsh realities of motor sport at Silverstone this weekend...Teamed with experienced British Driver Alex Buncombe in a Nissan 370Z, the pair endured the agony of two non-finishes and no points for the weekend.
Saturday’s race had seen Tresson line up twelfth on the grid. He was able to make up two places when he avoided tangling with a couple of spinning cars during the race. At the midway point he handed the car to Alex Buncombe. Despite having a big gap to make up to the car in front, Buncombe recorded a string of fast laps but, with minutes of the race remaining, the 28-year-old literally lost the rear left wheel of the Nissan and was forced to retire from tenth place.
Buncombe started from fifth on the grid [for the second race] but, on the opening lap, he was forced wide and ran off the track when Aston Martin driver Michael Mallock rejoined after his own excursion. Buncombe splashed through a huge pool of standing water on the apron, but was able to rejoin in last place. After two more laps, however, an electrical failure caused by the water splash left the drivers and team despondent and out of the race." - PlayStation Nissan Team Press Release Sun May 2nd
Saturday’s race had seen Tresson line up twelfth on the grid. He was able to make up two places when he avoided tangling with a couple of spinning cars during the race. At the midway point he handed the car to Alex Buncombe. Despite having a big gap to make up to the car in front, Buncombe recorded a string of fast laps but, with minutes of the race remaining, the 28-year-old literally lost the rear left wheel of the Nissan and was forced to retire from tenth place.
Buncombe started from fifth on the grid [for the second race] but, on the opening lap, he was forced wide and ran off the track when Aston Martin driver Michael Mallock rejoined after his own excursion. Buncombe splashed through a huge pool of standing water on the apron, but was able to rejoin in last place. After two more laps, however, an electrical failure caused by the water splash left the drivers and team despondent and out of the race." - PlayStation Nissan Team Press Release Sun May 2nd
Being with Jordan and the team on the pit wall when news of Buncombe's retirement came in race 2, it was heartening to see that although clearly disappointed, he was able to be positive and accept it as an inseparable part of motorsport. All of this despite the implications of reduced track time ahead of the next round in Spa, the future looks bright for Jordan Tresson.
Jordan on the opening lap of Race 1
On the other side of the RJN garage, Lucas Ordoñez had been showing some very promising pace in last year's Nissan 350Z, especially with the 50kg weight break the organisers had given the car for this event. It was of course incredibly important for Lucas, who also celebrated a birthday on race weekend, to be able to continue his racing career and find the funding that he did from Polyphony Digital, Nissan and PlayStation in order to maintain the credibility of the Academy initiative as a genuine route into motorsports as opposed to being labelled harshly as nothing more than a public relations exercise. Having managed to outqualify both Buncombe and Tresson for races 1 and 2, I caught up with him at the back of the RJN garage for a few questions about his experience and his hopes for the future.
Lucas Ordoñez gives a TV interview
Maziar Shahsafdari: Lucas, congratulations on a fantastic first season with RJN Motorsports and for your drive for 2010.
Lucas Ordoñez: Thank you so much, well last year was an amazing first year for me as a professional racing driver. It was amazing to finish in second place in the championship and also win the teams’ championship. A great year for us, for Nissan, for PlayStation and fortunately for me I got the chance to continue racing with the 350Z this race which has still been running quickly on the track. I would like to thank Kazunori Yamauchi along with PlayStation Spain and PlayStation Europe for this support because without them it would not be possible for me to have continued racing.
MS: Were you always confident you would get your seat for this year?
LO: Well, no, because motorsport is very complicated and it’s not always the case that you race well one year and then get a chance to race again to improve your position next year. Motorsport is much about finding the money, more money, sponsors, support from people or companies and if you can’t have that support then it’s impossible to race. I was not confident to have the chance but I worked hard to find it and I hope to end the season in a good position.
MS: And now that you have a new 370Z from the next race meeting onwards, do you think it’s realistic to go for the championship?
LO: Yeah of course, last year we ended up in second position so why not. We were very close to winning the championship in the last race but we had some problems on the car last time and we were unfortunate. But we are hoping to win the championship this year, and we can do it.
MS: How long did it take you to earn the respect of the other GT4 drivers?
LO: Well, I remember last year at Silverstone it was so difficult for me because all the drivers were looking at me as a PlayStation gamer, and they thought that I would be at the back of the grid. When I was on the track and Alex got 2nd place in qualifying, and I remember my first qualifying was 11th. But in the race I got a good rhythm and got past five cars in a few laps so I think from Adria, the second race of the season, I had more respect. There started my realistic life with them.
MS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
LO: Well, 5 years, one of my objectives is to improve my driving and step up in racing, to keep with PlayStation, Nissan and Kazunori’s support. So why not try to get to the Le Mans 24 hours, why not try to find the support to be in the FIA GT1 World Championship, or in Japan in Super GT. I have 2 Japanese sponsors behind me so it would be my dream to race for them in Japan, in the Super GT championship. I will work hard to achieve that.
A year in the PlayStation and Nissan fold has clearly made Lucas a great ambassador for the associated brands and the Academy project as well as giving him clear and defined aims. Having established himself as a serious competitor from the very first weekend of his GT4 campaign last year, this is precisely what the Gran Turismo community were watching and hoping for when a champion was selected among the first year of competitors and no doubt was hugely responsible for the massive interest in GT Academy 2010. Although it should be noted that the quoted 1 million downloads for the GT5 Time Trial were significantly fuelled by the widened global participation of the competition and of course the desire of Gran Turismo gamers worldwide to sample the new physics of the highly-anticipated fifth installment of the series. This seemed as good a time as any to ask Lucas about his feelings on the games and the community.
Lucas prepares for GT4 qualifying
MS: So you’ve recently joined GTPlanet, are you surprised how much support you have from the Gran Turismo community?
LO: Yeah of course, first of all I want to thank Jordan Greer and all of his people in working on GTPlanet, because they are doing an amazing job with me. It’s amazing how the people are following me on the GTPlanet website and I would like to spend more time on the web but I have to train, I have lots of things to do, but I hope from next week I can start to be more active on the web. It’s great to have the support and I want to thank all the fans following me on the website.
MS: Do you see yourself as an inspiration to people like 2010 Academy winner Jordan Tresson, to gamers like me, or do you still feel like the new boy, the gamer?
LO: Of course, I feel like I made the dream of thousands of people who drive in Gran Turismo who want to drive in real life come true. I got an amazing opportunity to be a racing driver thanks to Gran Turismo, I think I can be an inspiration because it is what the Gran Turismo fans want to do. Play in the morning and then drive in the afternoon, that was my dream! Fortunately I won the GT Academy, and this can be an inspiration for them and I am really part of the Gran Turismo world.
MS: If you could give one piece of advice to Jordan in his first year, from your experience, what would it be?
LO: Well my advice is of course to be calm and relaxed in the first races because it’s too tough to be competitive on the first weekend. All the drivers have spent lots of hours in the race cars and Jordan has never tried a race car before so it will be hard, but my advice is to be calm, to try to do his best, to try to learn about the car and Alex Buncombe (Lucas’s teammate in 2009). It is impressive how much you can learn from him, so that’s my advice.
MS: How close do you think simulators like Gran Turismo 5 are getting to the real thing? Are they getting really close or do they have a long way to go?
LO: When I was in Dubai with Kazunori, my first question was “How do you make the car so realistic when you are playing?”, because when I got the Nissan GT-R for the first time in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue I felt the car was exactly the same as the road car. I was here in Silverstone working for Nissan and I had the chance to drive in Gran Turismo and it was amazing how you had the same physics, so Polyphony did an amazing job. There are lots of simulators around on the PC and other platforms, but I think Gran Turismo has the best graphics, the best physics of each car, it’s amazing how you can improve with a game in real life.
MS: Did playing racing games for a long time give you any bad habits when it came to racing a real car?
LO: Yeah of course, it’s a big difference between a steering wheel in a race car which is much harder and stiff than the Logitech one. The difference is after I’ve been in a race car, and then I go to play in Gran Turismo the steering is too light for me so I have to get used to that after a few laps.
Lucas making his pit stop in the second GT4 race
MS: From what you saw of GT Academy this year, how would you rate the competition this year compared to the year you won the Academy?
LO: Well, I think in my year we were 25,000 people and this year the number was much much higher so that is good for Jordan, for PlayStation and Nissan of course. I am happy to be part of it, because I’m sure that my results in GT4 and the Dubai race helped to keep the Gran Turismo fans to keep playing and win that prize, so I’m really proud as it was my dream and I earned it, as Jordan has now. The difference, well, it was nearly the same all the time. We drove the 350Z cars, they drove the 370z cars, so it was nearly the same.
MS: A lot of us are really looking forward to the next GT Academy, what kind of physical training would you recommend to people who want to be successful?
LO: That part of a racing driver is very important. You need to be really fit, and my advice is to be fit not at the gym, but if you can be jogging about 4 days a week you should be fine for the GT Academy. I remember in the final it was really really tough, there were difficult stamina tests. I remember a guy on the GT Academy team who was really hard to beat. My advice to them is to be fit, to train hard and spend hours cycling or jogging. That will be fine, not as much as a Formula 1 driver but that should be fine.
MS: In all the games you’ve played, Gran Turismo games or others, what has been your favourite circuit to drive on?
LO: Well, my favourite circuit is the Nordschleife. I love it and it’s an amazing track. I hope one day to race there with Kazunori Yamauchi. We’ve been talking about it, so I hope one day it will happen. It’s a lovely track, as well as Suzuka in Japan.
MS: We wish you all the best Lucas.
LO: Thank you so much
Both Lucas and Jordan cited the Nordschleife as their favourite circuit as well as a desire to race there someday. Apart from being highly approachable, deserving and grateful for their opportunities, both Academy graduates still display a wonder in their eyes when watching GT1 or F3 machinery out on track or through the windows of Silverstone's International Media Centre. That has to be their aim based on the starting point of their respective racing careers, to one day climb the ladder of GT driving to the highest echelon and prove just how far the correct mental approach and training can take GT Academy entrants.
Lucas had a better weekend in the #2 Nissan 350Z than the #1 car, running as high as 2nd place in race 1 before gearbox gremlins robbed him of a stellar podium finish mere laps from the end. His progress in race 2 from 3rd on the grid was equally hampered by gearbox issues with Lucas claiming it was jumping out of fifth gear, so at 180kph he was forced to have one hand on the wheel through Becketts corner and use the other to keep fifth gear engaged. All things considered, his 7th place finish in race 2 was a mighty achievement. Team boss Bob Neville found a number of positives to take out of the weekend, including a mistake-free drive by Jordan on Saturday, the fact that the 370Z and 350Z were on the pace of all except the lead Aston Martin of Paul Meijer and of course the points that Lucas scored on Sunday.
Lucas and Jordan with the TV crew
Media and sponsor commitments will take over for both drivers between now and the next race meeting. Both were always very accomodating of the media and TV crew that would grab them at their convenience, even if it interrupted a session with the sports psychologist, a walk to the garage in the pit lane or a short bicycle trip to the bathroom which I mistakenly thought was part of the head-clearing mental preparation of the weekend, much to Jordan's amusement!
And what of my conclusions as a GT Academy national finalist and future hopeful? It was evident to me that any similarities between Lucas, Jordan and myself ended at the PlayStation and my well-used Logitech G25. Despite the common interests of twenty-something men (a passion for motorsports, online gaming and grid girls), there was something of a gulf between the mental strength, focus and preparation of these succesful gamers-turned-racers compared to myself or many of the other finalists I met. Despite the depth of realisation in discovering what it takes to win the GT Academy and then succeed as a professional racing driver, the history and experience of someone who is capable of reaching this stage, I feel the reputation and aspirations of all Gran Turismo players are in incredibly safe and assured hands. These guys deserve every gram of support we can give them and I hope their success perpetuates beyond Silverstone, beyond European GT4 and well into the future.
My deepest thanks to Jardine International, Jerry (GTP_Sphinx) and GTPlanet, Jeff Carter, RJN Motorsports for this incredible experience, opportunity and practically unlimited access to events this weekend. Finally, genuine and huge heartfelt thanks to Jordan Tresson, Lucas Ordonez, Rupert Williamson and Gavin Gough without whom this article would not have been possible, I wish you all the greatest success in your endeavours.
All the best,
Maz
http://twitter.com/Lucas_Ordonez
http://twitter.com/JordanTresson
http://twitter.com/GTAcademy
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