After 24 hours of all-weather driving and some unbelievable twists and turns, Team GT Academy safely brought home their #123 Nissan GT-R first in their SP8T class and 30th overall.
The result marks a second successive class victory for Kazunori Yamauchi and his 2011 teammates Yasukichi Yamamoto and Tobias Schulze and a first 24hr class victory for GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez. The provisional official results give the team 30th place overall – although they finished the race 32nd overall, some dramatic last second disqualifications elevated the team – with 136 laps completed in 24 hour 5 minutes 56.565 seconds, both improvements on the previous year.
Earlier this morning an exclusive video showing the build-up to and the first half of the race, including exclusive in-car footage, was released on the official Gran Turismo Youtube channel:
GTPlanet member Christhedude’s race was cut short on lap 129 – at the time leading the GT Academy car by just two places – when they were forced to retire. Our forum contains more discussion of the race and video stills taken throughout the race of multiple cars and incidents, including the dramatic final few seconds of the race.
Congratulations to Kazunori Yamauchi, Lucas Ordoñez and all involved in the Team GT Academy car!
Images courtesy of Nissan.
See more articles on Kazunori Yamauchi, Lucas Ordonez, Nurburgring 24 Hours 2012, and Polyphony Digital.
thing that puzzles me is that GT sponsors the series yet we dont get any of these cars in the game, not one…… LP560, MP4, 458, R8, SLS, 911RSR, V8 Vantage, RS4, M3, Z4 (pole) come on Kaz, you no wot we want.
just like last time, Car will come to us, yellow tinted lights and a blue tinted body all based on the 2012 GTR with aero tweaks. its another GTR but still cool
Actually the Audi R8 and the 458 Italia are in the game… I own them. Pretty sure the SLS AMG is too. Be grateful I made an account just to reply to u
I seriously want that black & blue Mclaren MP-4 race car that shows up @ 64 sec. Or atleast a race mod for the current MP-4 we have like the mods on that one!!
Typo, it’s @ 54 secs.
We should get race miss for all GT3 level cars, and race mods should come with a couple different 3-color livery options and we can obviously spray the 3 colors. Seems simpler then a full on livery maker for sure and would satisfy us all for GT5, then a full livery maker in 6. Hopefully in GT5 3.0
That would be the best thing ever
Indeed, but I say 5 colored, and you could choose to use 2/3/4/5 different colors if you so like.
Update 2.06 is now live. Haven’t seen anything new as of 12:09 AM EST. Servers still down
New update just became availible. Didn’t know where to post but go and download it folks!
Darn it I shouldn’t have said a thing now the whole world is downloading and slowing down my download. ARGH!
Congratulations!Gentlemen. Well done!
Well done! Now lets work on proper tier wear please. There’s nothing worse than entering a online competition where the tire restriction is either comforts, or sports. Don’t get me wrong they’re good rooms, but realistically race tires belong on the track. My motorcycle will never have street tires installed for a track day, and never have racing slicks on the street. I love GT5 , but month after month not real tiers fix. At least make a statement saying that “no tier fix for GT5 we’ll reserve it for GT6”. I lived in japan for over six years and this is not the Japanese way. Give us a official statement so I will not wait on this game to get patched please.
Good job gentlemen !!!!
Where did the Forza creator finish? What? He wasn’t in the race?
Forza has no real race car drivers like NFS or GT5.
Absolutely, love the look of Kaz’s car too….be fun to drive that around the ‘Ring
@TheCrazySwede
Hell yeah That would be The best dlc. We all want that. Kaz and PD LISTEN WHAT WE WANT!!!!
24H of Nurburgring DLC, please?! :)
The Hankook SLS, the Phoenix LMS Ultra R8, the Z4 GT3 (even though I prefer the M3 GT2) and the rest of the race cars would be awesome to have in GT5.
That would be brilliant! I’m still campaigning for my Aston Vantage GTE and ALMS/WEC spec cars on the game too, especially with Nissan’s current involvement in these series!
I really love the new photos a hole lot! The GT-R race car, the Nurburgring, the angles. It all screams out *Beaitifully perfect* I really want GT6’s Nurburg to look just like that. I love the art on the track and how green the trees and the scenery looks. It’s fantastic. (*,*) The grass must look strong as well in that game.
I don’t think I could be any more proud of a video game title. This is truly awesomeness!
+1 Dreams can come true!
+1 So very true. :)
+1 Although to me, GT5 qualifies as a simulator than an actual game.
What happened to the other GTR in their class? It had faster it looked liked they had faster lap times. Was it DNF or did it breakdown and lose some laps against GT Academy Team?
He got kicked out of the server due to his very low internet latency. ;p
I watched the last hour of the race on the live Audi feed. Unfortunately I do not speak German. Can someone please explain to me exactly what happened at the end of the race between the Porsche and Mercedes SLS for third place?! The Porsche seemed to have third locked up after the incredible battle the two cars were having and I swear it looked like he just stopped a few feet from the finish line and the SLS passed him. Then he got hit! What actually happened?
I think he ran out of fuel and the Clio was going straight, misjudging the speed (slow speed) that he was going near the finish line. So bam! Clio rear ended him.
You should have listened to the RadioLeMans commentary, they’re by far the best English commentary at every event they cover (most endurance races worldwide). As I understand it, the Porsche had unlapped himself against the leader n the final lap, and thus had another lap to complete if he did not allow the leader back through before the line. The car did not have enough fuel for another lap, and in a tactical error, they did not correctly inform the driver, who was not sure whether to stop. He therefore crossed the line, yet could not complete another lap. Not sure what happened with the Clio! However, had he have not overtaken the leader on track position, or had the same incident a lap later, or stopped before the line, he would have been classified – only losing 1 position. I hope that makes sense to you! :)
At the start of the video, where the BMW and the Mini Cooper were pulling out of the pits looked like Gran Turismo. In fact, they even had Gran Turismo decals on the windshield.
Sneak Peek at GT update anyone?
Every car had Gran Turismo sunstrips – and have done for years. The N24 is sponsored by Gran Turismo.
When will we see real time replay data imported into GT5 for events such as this. I’m sure this would be a great addition to the game and would be very possible.PD would have a much better coverage of the race if only virtual..but i guess there would be a lot of legality’s involved..but possible!
to be able to follow the race like this would be awesome…and at pit stops we could switch to live pit cam and feel really involved..this game is great and the possibility’s are just waiting to come out..
My congratulations to Team GT! Awesome job. Hopefully we’ll see the #123 car in a future DLC :)
I hate to say it, but first in a class with only two cars isn’t much.
Depends on how much he beat the other class car by.
But 30th overall isn’t bad. :O
Great result, now can we please have Porsche in the game.. I don’t mean to swear but Forza 4 is getting a Porsche expansion pack tomorrow and we have not seen any updates in months now. And before you all try to shoot me down, I only want what is best for the game!! thanks for posting Jordan.
Congratulations mister Yamauchi and now give us a New Car DLC please : )
Love gt doing doing big things congrats on the win
Class win in a… pool of only two cars? But hey, a win is a win. Kaz should try and go for the GT classes at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Then the 24 Hours of Le Mans could finally take it’s rightful place in Gran Turismo as the most prestigious endurance race in the game, just as it is in real life. Only reason Nürburgring is more prestigous in GT5 is the bit of bias competeing in it provide one certain big wig at PD ;)
I’m more impressed with the 30th overall than the Class win. I don’t consider a “Class win” to be all that impressive when there’s only two cars in the class.
Good Job Kaz-San!! I knew the JDM Spirit in you worked out!
Good job!
Nice job Kaz and team!!!!
Congratulations on a major achievement, I am very proud of being a member of the Gran Turismo family and GTPlanet, thumbs up Kaz.
Good for them!
I’ll be expecting a new digital issue of Audi Express…. Sad, we will never see the R18 probably (I know that’s a whole different class and race)
When it comes to the technology that makes racing fan and drivers tick Audi is UNTOUCHABLE. I would love o see a GT spec R8 added but I deffinently want an Audi R18 TDI added as well, and I honestly want it more then the R8. I think last years R18 looked much sharper then the two of them this year persononally, the paint scheme looked sharp and sleek, this years is chaotic and I personally am I bit bothered by how unsymetrical it is. Never the less, the R18 is no question one of the top 5 most advanced Le Mans cars of all time and they should really add it to GT5!
I didn’t wake up to see the ending. :(
Congrats to Team GT Academy!
Congrats Team GT Academy! Well done!
Yep, congrats to Kaz and GT Academy once again.
Now we will see this GTR in GT5 Lol
we already have this car duh from the last nurburgring…
@eminem it’s a totally new car, Sherlock
The 2nd DBA-R35 in GT5
Congratulations to Yamauchi san and the rest of the team. Superb result. Well done!!…:-))…
See now I do like Nürburgring and all but I don’t think it is the ultimate and best track like many claim. I think that the ultimate abscess track should challenge car and driver in all areas. Cars must only be set for good cornering speed, not as much on high end speed and long term performance, though I guess it is challenging on the gear box. For driving though I deffinently don’t think it is the best for a drivers skill. The ultimate driver track needs an even combination of high speed straights and low speed areas, all kinds of corners at different speeds, esses, chicane, a challenging kink, horseshoe, a high speed banked turn, tight corners, 90° heavy braking, etc. Different straight lengths getting to all different speeds on the transmission with different levels of break at the end. Nürburgring doesn’t have all of that, it’s all narrow and there aren’t passing zones so a driver can’t showcase passing ability, the track’s corners are generally taken at a similar speed range. It’s not the ultimate track. Honestly I don’t even know if the “ultimate track” is out there honestly, but there are many closer then Nürburgring. Le Mans is closer, Suzuka is closer, Sebring is closer, the Daytona Road Course is closer, Spa is closer, even Bathurst is closer, many tracks are closer. I like it and all but I don’t understand and hate how it is the be-all-end-all for street cars and race cars and everything, it doesn’t deserve it.
Spoken like a true non race driver who thinks they know everything. You wanna know why Nurburgring is the be all and end all, because you’d have to connect all those tracks you mentioned just to get 1 lap of nurburg. Sorry but your point is pointless.
You’re trying to negate his opinion with yours? … Is that how that works. I personally believe that Sarthe is a more well rounded track than Nurb, but that my opinion, I also greatly prefer watching Audi and Peugeot go at it on 24H Le Mans than watching the 24h Nurb or Dubai, But that’s my preference. If you believe that the Nurb is the “be-all-end-all” of all circuits, then thats your opinion and you aren’t without reason.
WTF? Who asked for your worthless opinion? Either say something nice or STFU. This site should require a license to comment.
^ How about you start by saying something nice instead. Telling another to “STFU” is not exactly nice either. Think before you post unneeded comments.
I’m not here to deal with opinion just facts. The FACT is nurburgring is the most demanding track in the world. it is the measuring stick for automotive progress, ask any race car driver. Like that saying goes if u can make it in new york you can make it anywhere, well nurburgring is the new york of worldwide race tracks.
Im sure a real race car driver/test lap driver would beg to differ with you about the nurb. and since you cant name a better track that demands so much attention, and technique, then stop hating or at the least being negative.
Nice opinion ..too bad race drivers, car manufacturers, tire manufacturers and most SIM fans disagree …
LIke i said this isnt about personal opinion, preference, track history, track makeup or anything else, the FACT of the matter is the Ring is the most demanding track in the world PERIOD. Accept it & keep it moving jeez!!
I love how people say “such and such is the be-all-end-all in racing”. This people are what I like to call “autoracing elitists” and they only seem to pop up around Nürburgring and F1 talks. Nothing is the be-all-end-all in racing. If there was truly a be-all-end-all in racing then why do we race anything else? It all servers a purpose and auto manufacturer clearly see that which is why multiple forms of racing have backing. I don’t think auto manufacturers agree with you Rynogtr23 because it is a fact that the race that translates most directly to street cars sales is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, because the rule book hear allows for progression of new technologies to show case the manufacturer more then the others. And thats not even me saying that, that’s what Audi Sport’s Wolfgan Ullrich said. Take the winning Audi R8 Ultra from this years Nürburgring 24 Hours race, that Ultra technology debuted and proves itself at Le Mans first, did it not? And no it does not do all the things I mentioned for one lap. It does not have the high speed bank, the different length straights, as there is only 1 sufficient straight, it does not have good passing zones for the drivers, it lacks the diversity I said earlier, but it is really good at esses… You want a racing drivers opinion, here it is: Every driver has a different style. Some are earlier brakers, who break early for the corners and give up tome through it to let the car settle and get on the gas to power off the exit with more speed. Some are late brakers, who drive the car into the corner as far as they can to get through the corner faster, but carry less moment off. When you get a track like Nürburgring with so many winding corners in succession one is forced to late brake into the turns in order to carry speed through them. This is because there are no straights to brake early and carry speed off of and since the track is winding as much as it is in order to stable the car by braking early you be slowing to a dangerous crawl and loose more time then its worth even if there was a straight to launch onto, plus if you were slowing that much on a narrow and frequently blind track like Nürburgring the cars behind you have no where to go and crash. My opinion was that no track is truly the ultimate track but I did say more suitable ones in my mind then Nurbürgring for the role of ultimate track. If I was picking JUST ONE then it’s Le Mans because it combines early braking turns with late braking turns, a wide variety of road widths and compounds, from wide and narrow city streets of different levels of bumps and such, to closed off paved racing surface. All it is missing is a big banked turn and a hairpin. It certainly is more popular to the public and has more history. All racing serves a purpose, to say one is better and claim your opinion is right just because it’s your opinion despite reason or anything. Back to Audi, why do you think they put their marketing campaign around there Le Mans technology instead of Nürburgring 24 Hours, same thing with Chevy, they put it on Le Mans. Everybody has an opinion and to say somebody’s should be regard what so ever “just because” is absurd and totally erases you from any legitablity what so ever.
I believe that nurburgring does showcase a lot of the traits you described in the original post amac500. It has a long stretch, high speed and low speed turns, 90 degree turns, banked to turns. I believe it has alll the traits to be the most enduring track of all. If not the passing zones alone make the track difficult in its own sense. Mclearen learned that in the race. The tracks length contributes to its difficulty. Surely you must agree that this track is extensive and drags on.
Oh of course, the tracks length and how it is constantly rolling is the challenge of the track. I don’t dislike the track by any means, I’m fine with it. Its the “ultimate” or “perfect” race track I contest. The thing with the corners is the approach and exit. Without the leading straight to the turn and how all the corners are in essences one rolling corner complex it isn’t at all taken or used I form of said corner. The tracking being rolling eases would be an aspect included in the perfect track, but the corner to straight ratio isnt fit as well. Although it is it’s own unique track with it’s own challenges it’s kind of a one aspect track. I personally am surprised no group has tried to make the “perfect” “ultimate” course, it’s something that would be very popularz
You Tube Channel ????
Aww I wanted to watch how they were doing, but. Jugding by the comments, everything must of went very well. Congratz GT Academy guys. :D I’m telling you for sure Kaz, please make GT6’s Nurburgring look exactly like that thank you. It’s looks so beautiful and fantastic, I’ll race on it everyday. *v* GT Academy and GT5 ROCKS race games all around.
Congratulations!
The class SP8T was only 2 Cars, Team Gt Academy ond the Nissan Gtr Team. But 32nd is great !!!!!
aw!!
Please release the same video without the music…..
Just what I thought too..
I hope we get the blue nissan gt-r also with one of the next updates ;-)
Me too. Maybe as a New years/Christmas gift perhaps? One can only hope.
Congrats for the good position in the end!!!
But as far as i know, there where only two cars in their class.
So, conrgats for crossing the finishline and that under the top 30 with a SP8T-class car (the other nissan endet up on position 99).
Great job!!
GT5 needs a GT3 class car pack….all the GT3 cars in their street versions(minus the Porsche, obviously) are in the game already….(GTR, MP4-12C, SLS, R8, 458…etc)…
You know you can tune them to specs, and add aero kits…
Sure they don’t have stickers but they still perform about the same.
totally agree, the whole time i was watching i was thinking why aren’t any of these cars in the game, and a livery editor, and realistic sound….
See adding GT cars like with homologations seems like an obvious or Gran Tursimo and I canny believe it hasn’t been done. When you think of going racing it is in a car set up for a racing league, not all street cars as GT5 believes with it’s minamal races wit actually racing cars. They should FOR SURE do homolgations like you said, thats cars like the M3, Corvette (which is the closest to the big idea I guess), an Aston Martin, a Lotus, the Viper, GT40 just to name some more. Then at least give us a couple livery templates to spray with maybe 3 color areas and ALWAYS let us choose the car number on a race car.
Well done! Impressive performance!
I won’t be suprised if this car will show up in GT5 in a short time :p
Sorry to see Chris having to retire.
Well done lads! It was brilliant to see it in action!
but there were only 2 cars in their class so…
of course overall result is very good :D
An awesome day for GT fans and Sim Racers a like. Congrats GT Academy!
Congrats. Nice job!
Great job for this team, 2nd class win in a row and once again, with a car that hardly had any marks on it
wow
Awesome! Well done GT Academy Graduates..
Who says a racing game doesn’t help you in real life..
Well, c’mon, GT5 is the ONLY racing game that allows that…
But yes, well done!
well done guys!!
Woohoo! Congratz to the team.
*Thumbs up*