This is an exert from the GT Academy Facebook.
"GT Academy 2010 will test your racing skills to the limit. Swap your sofa for a real race car with PlayStation and Nissan in the ultimate virtual to reality racing competition.
From December 17th, you can download the exclusive GT Academy Time Trial from PlayStation(R)Store to prove to your friends, your country and yourself that you have what it takes to be a professional racing driver.
Only the fastest PS3 racers will enter the GT Academy at Silverstone where we will see if you can cut it on a REAL race track, with REAL pressure and with a REAL race-tuned Nissan 370Z at your control. Only one winner will get to live their racing dream in the Euro GT4 Cup.
GT Academy 2010 on Facebook is the only place to get the very latest information, news and details on how you can take part in the competition. Watch this space!
GT Academy 2010 is open to participants from the following countries;
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
FRANCE
GERMANY
IRELAND
ITALY
NETHERLANDS
PORTUGAL
SPAIN
SWITZERLAND
UK
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
DENMARK
FINLAND
NORWAY
SWEDEN
Anyone who holds, or has held, a national or international race licence will not qualify for GT Academy. This rule is there to maintain the purity of the "virtual to real" challenge.
COMPETITORS HAVE TO BE OVER 18 TO ENTER"
Stage One - will offer Gran Turismo fans a sneak preview of the hotly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 game, due for release during 2010. Competitors will record flying laps on a time trial-based track available via PlayStation®Network, accessed through PS3. Unlike the first GT Academy, participants will not have to enter the competition using the GT5 PrologueTM game itself, and so even more hopeful racing drivers are expected to take part.
Stage Two – the holders of the twenty fastest online lap times from each participating country will qualify for their national final event. Tensions will run high as they battle each other on another exclusive Gran Turismo 5 level for the chance to move to the next phase of the competition.
Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo series, shares Wijnen’s enthusiasm. “This has been a very rewarding partnership. The whole GT Academy concept is very close to my heart. Our target with the Gran Turismo series has always been to come as close as possible to a real driving experience. To witness the level of driving achieved by GT players after a relatively short space of time at the GT Academy was very satisfying for me and I look forward to seeing the 2010 finalists in action. I am also very happy to have the opportunity for our GT community to have a preview of the Gran Turismo 5 game.”
The online section of the game will run from 17 December until 24 January with national finals following soon afterwards. The GT Academy itself takes place from 26 February until 3 March. The two winners will have to quickly clear their diaries, as their intensive training programme will start immediately and culminate in one driver racing in the opening European GT4 Cup race that could be at Silverstone on 2 May.