QUALIFYING CLOSES FOR THIS YEAR'S GAMER-TO-RACER GT ACADEMY COMPETITION
- Fastest gamers move on to National Finals to show their skill in real world NISMO cars
- European GT Academy Race Camp takes place at Silverstone at the end of July
London & Paris - 17 June, 2014: The qualifying stage for the sixth season of the NISMO PlayStation® GT Academy has come to a close, with thousands of racing driver hopefuls across Europe entering the virtual-to-reality competition over the past eight weeks. Qualifying rounds were open on Gran Turismo®6, with 239, 503 European gamers taking part with the ultimate aim of becoming the next GT Academy Champion, racing internationally with Nissan as a NISMO Athlete.
The fastest qualifiers in each of the 12 participating European countries will now go on to their local National Final. Here they will be joined by winners from a number of ‘Live Events' plus top gamers from the GT Academy Challenge on Facebook. The Facebook competition closed at the same time as the online Gran Turismo 6 qualifier, and the highest scorers in each country will now be contacted with an invitation to an exclusive local Gran Turismo gaming day where their PlayStation®3 skills will be put to the test. The top performers at these events will earn a place in their National Final.
The National Finals will see the gamers competing with each other on Gran Turismo 6, as well as being tested for fitness, personality and skill behind the wheel of a real Nissan NISMO performance car. The competitors who perform the best overall will be selected to represent their country at the European ‘Race Camp' in July, to be held at Silverstone Circuit where their Formula One heroes will have raced only three weeks earlier.
At Race Camp, the PlayStation gamers will be put through a series of mental and fitness tests, as well as a series of NISMO-themed driving challenges designed to unearth the most talented racer under the watchful eye of experienced mentors and judges from the world of motorsport. At the end of the week, the gamer with the most racing potential will have the chance to become a GT Academy Champion and a NISMO Athlete, one of Nissan's elite racing drivers. They will be rewarded with a comprehensive Driver Development Programme, culminating in the opportunity to race internationally for Nissan at the Dubai 24 Hours race in January 2015.
The success of the GT Academy Driver Development Programme can be seen just by looking at the entry list for last weekend's Le Mans 24 Hour race. Four virtual-to-reality champions lined up to compete in this year's Le Mans, with Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy in the Nissan-powered OAK Racing LMP2 prototype and Lucas Ordoñez and Wolfgang Reip in the innovative Nissan ZEOD RC. Wolfie successfully completed the first ever all-electric lap of Le Mans in the ZEOD RC before bad luck befell the car in the first few laps of the race. Jann and Mark both had stand out performances, taking the lead of the LMP2 class and racing away from the pack until a technical issue halted their chances of standing on the top step of the podium. Despite this they still finished within the top ten overall, and fifth in class. Meanwhile, last year's GT Academy champions are racing in the international Blancpain Endurance Series and have already scored their first win, fittingly at Silverstone!
NISMO's Global Head of Brand, Marketing and Sales, Darren Cox, has been a driving force behind GT Academy since its inception. "The opportunities that have become available to the GT Academy champions through Nissan's burgeoning motorsport programme means that the stakes are higher than ever. Everybody is now aware that GT Academy is no gimmick and that it is a genuine route into top-level racing. We need to use all of our experience to pick the best of the gamers to turn into a NISMO Athlete and I look forward to following their progress through National Finals and Race Camp. Our NISMO Athletes have achieved considerable racing success this year and so the standards are getting higher each year."
Usama Al-Qassab, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's VP of Product Marketing, is also looking forward to watching the 2014 GT Academy season unfold. "The excitement of a new season of GT Academy never fades, as each year it is proved yet again that a PlayStation gamer can become a real racing driver, thanks to skills learnt on the virtual tracks of Gran Turismo. This year gamers had the chance to qualify for the competition in an ultra-realistic recreation of the very same GT-R NISMO GT3 car that the GT Academy winners get to race in international competition, so this time next year one of these gamers could be racing that car in real life! There is a danger in the sixth year of this competition that we become complacent about that fact, but we shouldn't forget just how amazing this competition is."
More details about GT Academy 2014 can be found on various platforms including:
@GTAcademy
For more information, please contact your local PR manager.
Additional notes:
About GT Academy 2014
GT Academy is a collaboration between PlayStation® and Nissan that uses the virtual world of the Gran Turismo®6 game to unearth real-world racing talent. Now in its sixth year, GT Academy includes separate competitions for Europe (France, Italy, UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Russia, Sweden, Poland and Czech Republic), Germany, North America (USA and Canada) and a new International group (Australia, India, Middle East, Mexico and Thailand).
The GT Academy qualification round will be part of a free Gran Turismo®6 update on PlayStation®3 (terms and conditions apply). The fastest gamers in each participating territory gain access to their region's National Final event. A number of competitors can also gain access via a series of Live Gran Turismo® events organised locally, and via a Facebook game entry mechanism that leads to a special Gran Turismi®6 qualifying event. The National Finals add driving, fitness and a media element to the gaming.
From National Finals, the action moves to Silverstone for the legendary Race Camp, where the competitors are put through their paces on track in Nissan sports cars under the watchful eyes of high profile judges and mentors. One winner from each competition will be invited to take part in the intensive Driver Development Programme. They could qualify for an international race license and race for Nissan at the Dubai 24 Hours in January 2015, before potentially joining Nissan's elite NISMO Athletes.
Previous winners of GT Academy are now regular racing drivers. In 2014, Jann Mardenborough (UK, winner in 2011) will be racing in GP3, a feeder series to Formula One, with the championship-winning Arden International team. Lucas Ordoñez (Spain, winner in 2008) will be racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year in the innovative Nisan ZEOD RC, alongside Wolfgang Reip (Belgium, winner in 2012). In 2013, Lucas won the Pro-Am Drivers Championship in the Blancpain Endurance Series. The 2013 Champions, Stanislav Aksenov (Russia), Miguel Faísca (Europe), Nick McMillen (USA) and Florian Strauss (Germany) are competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN.
News and views on GT Academy 2014 and the progress of all the GT Academy drivers can be followed on various platforms including:
www.youtube.com/gtacademyeurope
About the Gran Turismo® Franchise
Gran Turismo® celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2013, having first appeared internationally in 1998. The multi-award-winning franchise has been the most successful ever for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it also surpassed worldwide sales of 70 million units. Various iterations of Gran Turismo® have been created for PlayStation® , PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®3 and PSP (PlayStation® Portable), and have always been regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever created due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and design. Since the inception of Gran Turismo®, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in Japan have revolutionized the racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the most realistic driving simulation in the industry and a unique medium for automotive manufacturers to showcase their products. Gran Turismo®6, the latest iteration of the game, was released on 6 December, 2013.
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation®4 (PS4®) computer entertainment system, PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) portable entertainment system, PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment system, PSPTM (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and PSN software and hardware in 109 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE has revolutionised home entertainment since they launched PlayStation® in 1994. PlayStation®4 redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalisation and deeply integrated social capabilities. PS Vita is an ultimate portable entertainment system that offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context. PS3® is an advanced computer system, incorporating the powerful Cell Broadband Engine and RSX processors. PSP® is a handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games with high-quality full-motion video and high-fidelity stereo audio. SCEE also delivers the PlayStation® experience to open operating systems through PlayStation®Mobile, a cross device platform. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories.
More information about PlayStation® products can be found at http://www.playstation.com/www.playstation.com/oblocked::http:/www.playstation.com/www.playstation.com.
PlayStation®, PS4, PS3, PS2 and PSP are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 695,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.
About NISMO
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For NISMO's GT Academy story click here
