Silverstone

A lot of Gran Turismo 6 screenshots were released at last month’s big reveal, but you might have missed these interesting aerial views of Silverstone, one of the game’s prominent new circuits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioRsgvlzQ7g

Nissan GT Academy Team RJN took victory in the Pro-Am class of the Blancpain Endurance Series race at Silverstone on Sunday.  The win for the No. 35 YouTube Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 is the first class victory for Nissan in the Blancpain Series at the home of the GT Academy competition. The No. 32 GT-R GT3 retired in the late stages of the race with a technical fault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZxx4XTzFI

The press conference for Gran Turismo’s 15th Anniversary event at Silverstone Circuit kicks off today at 15:00 GMT, and GTPlanet is here to provide live coverage of all the announcements as they are revealed.

The future of the Gran Turismo series is set to be revealed Wednesday, May 15th, at a major media event hosted by Sony at Silverstone Circuit.

Sony’s official press release for the big “15 Years of Gran Turismo” event planned at Silverstone Circuit on May 15, 2013, offered a few hints at what’s to come. One interesting paragraph discussed car manufacturers who will be participating:

Sony has just published a video officially announcing the 15 Years of Gran Turismo event, to be held at Silverstone on May 15th.

Information has leaked on the NeoGAF forums by user “-BLITZ-” about a special “15 Years of Gran Turismo” event to be held at Silverstone Circuit on May 15, 2013.

Ironically, England’s famous Silverstone Circuit has hosted every region’s GT Academy Race Camp every year since the competition began in 2008, yet has never actually been featured in a Gran Turismo game.

The famous Silverstone Circuit has just been added to Google Maps’ Street View, which now lets you virtually tour the entire length of the 3.6-mile Grand Prix course.

This weekend, Jann Mardenborough returns to Silverstone, the place where his professional racing career started almost exactly one short year ago.

The GT Academy 2011 driver development programme shifted up a gear last weekend when European winner Jann Mardenborough had his first competitive outing in a 420bhp Nissan 370Z GT4 race car. Racing in the Welsh Sports and GT Championship at Pembrey, Wales, the gamer-turned-racing driver recorded two strong third place finishes and a fourth in the weekend’s three races.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVr5rQB1pRU

If you competed in GT Academy USA earlier this year, you know exactly how difficult it was to make the cut during the Round 3 time trials. Those who made it to the National Finals in Orlando are obviously very talented, and the final 16 going to Silverstone next week are the best in the country. What’s it like to make it that far in the competition, and how can you do it, yourself?

GTPlanet’s own Maziar Shahsafdari (Synwraith) joined RJN Motorsports last weekend for their first race of the season, and he’s come away with a new appreciation for GT Academy winners Jordan Tresson and Lucas Ordoñez. His close contact with everyone in the team has provided an inside look at who these guys really are, and explains how their mental toughness sets them apart from the rest of us. It’s a great read, and I guarantee you’ll come away from the article with a new perspective on the GT Academy program and the driving talent it has discovered so far. Click here to check it out, and be sure to leave a word of thanks to Maziar for all of his hard work in putting this together (thanks again, Maz!)! I’d also like GTP reader Casey for sharing the following pictures from last weekend’s race: