After more than a month of filming driving scenes, production of the Gran Turismo movie has wrapped at the Hungaroring — with Jann Mardenborough seemingly taking on a role within the film about his racing career.
The Gran Turismo movie crew was first spotted at Hungary’s national race track, which hosts an often-chaotic Formula One race each year, back at the start of November. That included a suite of Nissan GT-Rs, supplied by Nissan Europe for filming, and a Gran Turismo-liveried Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel.
Sporting a set dressing with myriad GT Academy, Nismo, Nissan, and Gran Turismo logos, the Hungaroring appeared to be hosting scenes relating to the GT Academy competition — standing in for Silverstone, where Mardenborough won his GT Academy title in 2011.
Over the course of the next six weeks, the assembled team of performance car, race car, and precision stunt drivers filmed the race sequences, with some scenes appearing to use the circuit in the wrong direction. Many of the drivers have since taken to social media to reflect on their experiences.
Among them is Dai Yoshihara, who has been associated with Gran Turismo since 2013. You can drive his Formula D Subaru BRZ in Gran Turismo Sport and 7, and his Pikes Peak time attack Tesla Model 3 should appear in GT7 in the future. Interestingly Yoshihara also confirmed some Gran Turismo movie filming has taken place in Dubai too.
Overseen by Andy Harriss of MSS, a stunt driving specialist who’s overseen the driving on movies like Fast & Furious 6 and No Time To Die, Yoshihara is one of several drivers who’ve posted about their experiences.
Others include Mauro Calo — who has driven a specialist Nissan GT-R tracking rig for over a decade on television, film, and magazine shoots — who also hints at filming in Dubai, and GT3 racing driver Ollie Millroy, who also has some impressive movie driving credits such as Mission Impossible Rogue Nation. One of Millroy’s images includes Mardenborough in a race suit, suggesting the man himself will take to the wheel in the final cut.
The Gran Turismo movie is inspired by Mardenborough’s story. As a 19-year old, the Welshman won GT Academy in 2011 and embarked upon a racing career that took him to the heights of the top category at Le Mans, as well as top-tier racing series like the GT World Challenge, Super GT, and Super Formula. He currently works as a simulator driver for Nissan’s Formula E team.
Archie Madekwe (See) will play the role of Mardenborough in the film, in a cast that includes David Harbour (Hellboy, Black Widow), Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean), and Djimon Hounsou (Shazam, Guardians of the Galaxy). Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) is directing.
The Gran Turismo movie is set to debut on August 11, 2023.
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