GT Academy 2014 Online Qualifier: Round 1 Starts Now

GTA2014_LEAF_01

GT Academy is back – and it’s bigger, badder and will likely be more competitive than ever before.

Round 1 starts today with a relatively simple single lap time trial in the Nissan Leaf electric car around the 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit – an exercise in preservation of momentum and minimal braking in a car equipped with both a CVT and low friction comfort hard tyres.

While some driving aids are available, active steering and skid recovery force are both disabled for the event. The required times for each grade are:

  • Gold: 1’05.500
  • Silver: 1’07.000
  • Bronze: 1’12.000

Participants also get credits towards their GT6 career, with up to 500,000cr available for those who gold the event while sporting a 200% login bonus.

Visit our GT Academy 2014 forum for more discussion and analysis!

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Comments (74)

  1. mlbguy4life

    I think its funny that people think they can run a ( lucky ) fast lap and then think they could drive like that in real life. The academy has proven to find some real good drivers, but 99.9999% of the people that turn super fast laps would destroy a real car in a matter of seconds.

    1. Magic Ayrton

      True, but GT has helped me be a faster driver on the track, better understanding of racing lines, understeer, oversteer, steering input, weight distribution in corners and using the throttle on the exit of tight corners etc..

  2. warpkez

    Really wish they had fixed the game first. Damn annoying knowing that collision detection is still baulked.

    Sick of the game telling me that I have collided with an object, only to view in replay that I can still see daylight between me and the witches caps – before, during and after supposed collision.

  3. Whitefalcon63

    This is the first time Australia has been able to compete. I’m loving the challenge and i’m blown away that I’ve been able to make it into the top 500.

  4. Bigsword1955

    I believe that we’ll get all of the 2014 GT Academy Cars after all the events are finished…8)

  5. Quigz125

    Awesome. I love how they can integrate tho right into GT6. Already have a time of 1:04.973…. The Nissan Leaf sucks. We need an internal combustion car not an electric car.

    1. Quigz125

      Not going to lie this is tough but I found a cool technique. During the last GT Academy I saved the best lap replay on the leaderboard and followed that person’s line in real time. I use a controller so I’ll never be that fast but I noticed when I watched their lines I cut 1 or more seconds off with their help. This is a really cool feature.

  6. Fire Yoshi

    Gosh darnit, the disadvantage of using a controller. I can’t seem to get my time bellow 1:04, no matter how many different lines I try to take. Getting very, very close though, with less than 0.100 seconds away.
    I don’t care about the Academy stuff myself, but I want to be the first on my friends list that gets in the 1:03 range. :)

  7. OpticZero

    Has anyone realized that GT Academy is no longer a free to enter contest (other than the purchase of the PS3)? In the past it was a free download outside of the game and anyone with a PS3 could enter. Now it is inside of GT6 and only people who bought the game can enter.

    1. biftizmo

      i wondered if there would be a free to play version….and i don’t ever remember it being within GT5..unless it was in the academy version…but i thought that came out after 2011 academy…

  8. srmellott

    If I have one minor grip it’s the leaderboard ranking system. Let’s say you just pulled a nice solid lap in the 1:04’s You’re 1.80 seconds behind the leader. But you’re ranked 10,000th place. With all the tied times your ranking should be no lower than 1,800 place. It’s the times that should be ranked not each individal person with the same times. Just a thought.

    1. Dhalism

      No it shouldnt be. You only tie with all other people who have exact time as yours, so let’s say 9998 instead of 10000. But all the people who tied for time that is faster than yours are still faster than you.

    2. OpticZero

      I would usually agree with you on that one; but if they took the top times and not just the top drivers, they would need to buy a ton of plane tickets to get that many people to the Nationals.

    3. srmellott

      You’re 100% correct. That was stupid on my part. Frustration set in. Sorry community- can I have a mulligan on that stupid comment. Jeez!!!

  9. CallmeDan

    I know I will never, ever be able to actually get into GT Academy, but I’ll play, just for some extra cars and cash.

  10. LeftyWright69

    I wonder why anyone would leave comments that try to shoot down the effort of GT6 for this unbelievable contest. Hell I don’t care if were driving Nissan lawn mowers if everybody is driving the same thing. I just think you wimps are week and don’t want to show everyone how fast you aren’t. I don’t care if I finish last. This is a test for me as someone who loves to drive. I always like to think that I can go faster every year and this is the best platform for me to see how I stack up against the fastest guys.

  11. kollosson

    Some people here complaining about the Nissan Leaf ? !! yes there are more interesting cars but that’s not the point, try it before you start complaining, its an exercise in finding grip and the optimum driving line, I got under the gold time and its a lot harder than it looks, quite enjoyable actually…..

    1. Swagger897

      * loves to drive *

      Keyword…. I’ll drive anything (except all of the Prius, corolla, corvette, Camaro, spark… Just about all of GM and those toys.) that makes me happy. Being able to thrash around with others in the exact same car is the most fun thing in the world..

    1. hsv010

      “Nah, screw the chance of being a professional racing driver, give me an update!”
      Top stuff there.

  12. Lambob

    I welcome this event, as Round 1 this year is finally a full lap on a formidable track, and not a half section on the Monza.

  13. AlexFFM1991

    Just the Last round counts right ? Like
    Last Year. It is the First round also important ?? Thx Guys
    Was last jear on place 48 and this time I want to go to the finals so it’s important 5 me to know if the first round counts :)

  14. Samus

    ‘Bigger’? If the rest of the events are just one single hot lap test then it’s going to be smaller than before.

  15. ocd1920

    Hello iRacing! Hello rFactor 2! GT6 has gotten to be quite mundane these days and although I am a Nissan guy, don’t foresee GT7 and a PS4 in my basement! Perhaps GT6 should have been labeled “Prologue”. Darin Gangi was spot on!

    1. infamousphil

      Not that I would have any chance of posting a competitive time with any Nissan, but a Leaf? Talk about boring. There are plenty of more interesting and modern Nissans in GT’s car list.

    2. Progress823

      I’m just doing it for the 500,000 in game credits; wait, there is nothing in the dealerships that I want to buy. Oh well, not doing anymore of them lol.

  16. forzaturismo

    Let me guess: round2(sylvia); round3(370Z) and final round(skyline gtr)….
    Humm….PD make innovation every year for GT academy!!!! (now PD staff can have a long rest after making this huge GT academy events….)
    The real recycling game…..
    :)

    1. ExplodeTheApex

      It is a bit repetitive, but the GT Academy is sponsored by Nissan so they probably deserve to be able to put their own cars in for the challenges

    2. Halcyon925

      I remember back in GT Academy 2012, they had around eight rounds, and there were five time trials in each. I wish it was much bigger this year.

    3. OpticZero

      They can still make it a little bit more interesting using more Nissan cars. Adding a few brand new models not yet seen in the game. Examples would be the Versa, Juke, Rouge, Murano Crosscabriolet, Frontier, and even the NV200 Taxi just for fun.

    4. J Singleton

      It’s not a recycling game. It’s a development training program. Like other training programs for any sport or job in this world it stays the same until a better approach is found.

  17. SnakeOfBacon

    This is the first time I have ever encountered Comfort Hard tyres, they never really seemed to have a use.

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