GT Academy

Back in the summer, a 26-year old postal delivery driver took part in a little competition you may have heard of: GT Academy. This van-driving man – by the name of Matt Simmons – would go on to win the International Region GT Academy competition. In the article linked, we mentioned Simmons was entering the usual post-Academy 3-month training program that Nissan puts each winner through, in preparation for the Dubai 24 Hours race in January. That’s not the case anymore, however.

Bronze

Jann Mardenborough had another successful weekend in the GP3 Series, taking a podium finish at the Hungarian round of the championship.  The young Brit had to work hard in Saturday’s race – he qualified in 13th place after a red flag stopped his fastest run – but he got stuck in and took a very creditable seventh.  This put him on the front row of the grid for race two on Sunday.“I didn’t get as good a start as yesterday and Patrick (Niederhauser) got the jump on me,” explained Jann. “I settled in to third place and managed to hold onto it for the full race, despite the pace not being as good as yesterday.“It’s great to get a podium, and of course last week’s win, which takes me into the summer break with lots of new points.  This also builds my confidence for the next round at Spa so I can’t wait for that to come around now.”

Nissan and GT Academy head back to the fabled Spa-Francorchamps Circuit for their third run at the Blancpain Endurance Series flagship race. The team and drivers’ have experience on their side and are more determined than ever to take the top step on the podium in 2014.

It’s been a while, but we’re back bearing gifts, GT Academy champion interviews! We get all TMZ on the two latest American Champions and dig into their psyches! Or just talk a lot about racing, Gran Turismo, preparing for this year’s Academy, and such…

Though Nissan have hinted at an invitational appearance during the season, it means the four graduates will not be racing in the UK’s top GT series in 2013. It’s likely their calendars (along with previous graduates’) will be announced when Nissan formalise their 2013 schedule at new Nismo headquarters opening in Yokohama on 26th February.

Images courtesy of imsachallenge.com, dutchgt.nl and maserati.com.

The published schedule is:

With GT Academy Race Camps only occupying a month a year, we’ve often wondered what the huge fleet of 370Zs and GT-Rs are used for the rest of the time. A short, 3 minute feature on a regional news program in the UK, spotted by GTP member “Humphrey” gave us a surprising insight.

Nissan Europe has today issued a press release detailing the campaigns their three GT Academy graduates will be driving in the 2012 season.

After 24 hours contending with the heat, dark and fireworks of Dubai, the all-GT Academy team of Lucas Ordoñez, Jordan Tresson, Bryan Heitkotter and Jann Mardenborough managed to bring their RJN Motorsport Nissan 370Z home in a creditable 3rd place in class and 26th overall:

All fans of driving games should be aware of this by now, but today marks the start of a most unique race. A seat in the Dubai 24 Hours has been the ultimate prize in all GT Academy events to date but today, for the first time, the car is driven exclusively by GT Academy alumni – with 2011 winners Bryan Heitkotter and Jann Mardenborough joining Jordan Tresson and Lucas Ordoñez behind the wheel of the RJN Motorsports Nissan 370Z.

With the 2012 Dubai 24 hour race fast approaching on 12-14th January, Nissan have published a “GT Academy: Road to Dubai” video serial that’s been broadcast on EuroSport since last September.

GTPlanet is very excited to team up with Nissan to co-host a live Twitter question & answer session with Lucas Ordonez, the real-world racing star that’s emerged from the first GT Academy competition! As you know, Lucas and his Signatech Nissan team just finished second-in-class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first race in the 2011 International Le Mans Cup calendar. They’ll be participating in all the events around the world this year, including the ultimate endurance race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.