New information has emerged about the GT Academy, the latest promotion by Sony to give Europe’s fastest GT drivers a shot at a real racing career. The first press release was vague on details, but today we have everything you need to know. The entire competition is broken down into three stages:
Stage 1 (June 2 – July 21): The first phase of GT Academy will take place online with a “giant” virtual Gran Turismo 5 Prologue tournament. The competition will run for seven weeks and to enter, players must register their PSN ID at gtacademy.eu. The next time they play GT5 Prologue online they will be able to race in the GT Academy Time Trial where they will compete to be the fastest around the Eiger Nordwand track in a Nissan Fairlady 350Z.
Stage 2 (after July 21): The fastest 20 drivers in each country will be invited to a national final to compete head to head on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The three fastest drivers from the final will win a seat at the Stage 3 competition.
Stage 3 (August 25): The fastest three drivers from each country travel to Silverstone to take part in the GT Academy – a real-life driving competition on the track itself. Competitors will not only have to prove their driving skills in a Nissan GT-R but will also be tested for their mental and physical skills in a series of tests. The two fastest drivers from Silverstone then have the chance to enter a four month training programme to earn their racing licenses and take part in a real life race in a fully race prepared Nissan 350Z at the 24 Hour endurance event in Dubai in January 2009.
Hopefully, a large number of GTPlanet users will be participating in this competition, and one of our own will make it all the way to Dubai. Regardless, it’s great to see Sony and Polyphony taking advantage of the game’s online capabilities to expand the reach and influence of the series.
