Success continues for the world's first ever virtual to real life racing driver
Lucas Ordoñez winner of GT Academy, earns a place in the GT 4 European Championship
There is no stopping the world’s first virtual to real life racing driver Lucas Ordoñez, winner of the Nissan/PlayStation® GT Academy 2008. Following a skilled performance in the Dubai 24hr race in January, where Lucas raced alongside established drivers such as Johnny Herbert, his journey into the world of racing shows no signs of slowing down.
Lucas has continued to impress the racing world with his dedication and his achievements as a driver and it has just been announced that he has been offered the chance to race alongside experienced partner Alex Buncombe in the upcoming GT4 European Championship. The first races are at Silverstone on 2nd and 3rd of May and this will be Lucas’ first opportunity following GT Academy to prove himself behind the wheel of a racing car.
Lucas said; “I can’t believe how much my life has changed since this time last year. I was honoured to have had the opportunity to race in Dubai in January and I can’t believe I now have this opportunity to race the Nissan Z in the GT4 European Championship. I am learning more all the time and I am so grateful to be doing this - it is a dream come true for me.”
Mark Bowles, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe added; “It’s been a long journey for Lucas and a fantastic one for all of us. PlayStation and Nissan have always believed the virtual to reality story was possible and through huge commitment from the team we have achieved what we set out to do - take a Gran Turismo gamer and turn him into a real life racing driver - long may the success continue”
Darren Cox, Nissan Europe said; “Lucas has earned the right to race in the highly competitive European GT4 Series. He helped us prove it was possible to go from Virtual to Reality, now over the coming six race weekends we will see if he can make another big step up. By the end of the season he needs to be a regular podium visitor. For this weekend a top six finish would be acceptable in this very competitive Series. The Nissan Motorsport community are watching his progress with great interest.”
Launched in May 2008, GT Academy is an international driving competition from Nissan and PlayStation®, which invited gaming fans from across Europe to put their virtual driving skills to the test and win the chance to compete in the real life racing world. Ordoñez was the first winner of GT Academy which proved to be a resounding success - all that remains now is to see just how far the success continues.
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For more information, please contact:
Carly Gibb
Hill & Knowlton
Carly.gibb@hillandknowlton.com
+44(0)20 7413 3709
Notes to Editors:
About GT Academy
Running over nine months, GT Academy is an international driving competition that captures the spirit and ethos of both Nissan and PlayStation® brands and unites the worlds of videogames and motorsport through the ultra-realistic competition.
GT Academy was contested by 25,000 entrants across 12 European countries who competed on the PlayStation® network to record their fastest online lap in Gran Turismo 5 PrologueT on PS3®. The 20 fastest from each country competed in a national final with the fastest drivers making the international final - the GT Academy at Silverstone. 22 competitors battled it out in a series of physical, mental and driving challenges. These included getting behind the wheel of Nissan's GT-R for the racing contract that culminated in Lucas Ordoñez (Spain) racing a Nissan 350z in the Dubai 24hr endurance race in January 2009. To find out more, visit www.gtacademy.eu.
GT4 European Cup calendar
About Nissan in Europe
Nissan employs over 12,000 people in its European design, research and development, manufacturing, logistics, and sales and marketing operations. In calendar year 2008, the company sold 601,647 vehicles across 40 markets in Western and Eastern Europe including Russia. For more information, please go to www.nissaneurope-newsbureau.com
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. 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. Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 21.3 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 136.3 million systems worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 50 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 20 million accounts have registered to PlayStation Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and over 380 million items have been downloaded.
More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com.
PlayStation, PLAYSTATION and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PS3 and PSP are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
About Gran TurismoT
With more than 50 million units sold worldwide, the award-winning Gran TurismoT franchise for the PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 is regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulation ever created due to its true-to-life graphics, physics and real-life cars and tracks. Since the inception of the Gran Turismo franchise, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in Japan have revolutionized the racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the gamer with the most true-to-life driving simulation within the industry and a unique medium for motor manufacturers to showcase their products.