GT Academy starts next week!!

[HyperTek]

The GT Academy brought to you by Nissan and Sony will go live on June 2nd, allowing players to compete in a three-step tournament for two seats in the 2009 Dubai 24 hour race.

http://www.virtualr.net/drop/images/428850gtacademy.jpg

Starting next week, interested GT5 Prologue players have to register on gtacademy.eu with their Playstation ID. After registration, they’ll be able to race in the GT Academy time trial. The objective is to post a quick lap on the Eigner Nordwand circuit, using a Nissan Fairlady 350Z.

The 20 quickest drivers of each country will advance to step two, the national finals. The tree fastest drivers of each country will leave the virtual world and travel to Silverstone. This is were it gets real as drivers have to prove their driving abilities in a Nissan GT-R as well as complete a series of mental and physical tests.

After all is said and done, two drivers will remain and compete in a factory-backed Nissan 350Z at the 2009 Dubai 24h race. You think you have what it takes? Then sign up for the challenge on June 2nd…and send us a postcard from Dubai

Sounds very exciting!!! =p

[kdashy]

Pretty amazing.

Racing with pro drivers at a 24h race.

[HyperTek]

they put you through numorious test im sure.

Ever hear of the Red Bull F1 drivers search? they have go kart events and select people to try for their F1 team lmao
thats how American driver Scott Speed made F1, but he wasnt producing any good results and lost his seat lol

[lflkajfj12123]

thats pretty sweet

dubai is amazing also that'd be so sick

[an_orange_s2k]

nice find sounds super cool

[GRUPPE 5]

that's cool, but I'd bet the car DNF's after the first hour.

and Dubai is the epitome of ballin

[Jimmy Up]

my brother JUST bought a PS3, wont hurt to try it...

[Farzam]

I know a LOT of people who're gonna try to do this


I think maybe 3 have a chance

[BustedS13]

that's fucking sick
i need to borrow a ps3 like now

[HyperTek]

i dont have the game and currently no broadband between moving to new house.. would at least take a few hours for me to trim down my lap times with a steering wheel since when you play with a wheel its not soo easy

[BOROSUN]

so you win a real gtr?

[murda-c]

the problem is that they're gonna require you to get all your license classes before you can drive.

[infinitexsound]

well they moved scott speed to nascar and he just won his first race....... in his rookie nascar year... so i think its cool, great way to become a pro driver and chase a dream... plus if u get picked im sure youll be paid...

[HyperTek]

GT Academy - Winners Announced » VirtualR - Sim Racing News (http://www.virtualr.net/gt-academy-winners-announced/)

GTPlanet reports that the two winners of Sony’s GT Academy competition have been announced. Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez and German Lars Schlommer will be driving a Nissan 350Z race car at the 2009 Dubair 24 Hours.

The competition started at home where thousands of racers submitted their time in a GT5 Prologue time trail. Via several finals, the six quickest drivers ended up in Silverstone where they had to prove themselves behind the wheel of a real car….and meet former Formula One driver Johnny Herbert. Lucas and Lars were quickest of them all, earning them a drive in a professional 24 hour racing event on a very challenging modern race track.

Those of you speaking Spanish will surely enjoy Lucas Ordoñez’ detailed report in the official Playstation Forums where the photos below have been taken from.

http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gallery/943/dscn0286183.jpg
http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gallery/943/dscn0323261.jpg

[stiizy]

Look at that fucking dork first on the left in the last pic.... hahahahahahaha

[HyperTek]

this is posted on gtplanet but i dunno if its the same guys they look different
http://www.gtplanet.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/winners.jpg

edi: this might be the winners i dont know.. the other pic could be the contestants maybe

[origin_s135]

DAMN! i'm so jealous, dubai 24 hours race? plus, drive those cars? that's pretty sweet. big up to sony!

[stiizy]

Dubai would be nice though and to drive a GTR is even better

[Firestorm]

somewhere in the rules of GT-Academy i read that the Nissan racing team isn't obliged to use the winners of GT-Academy as drivers.

but even coming so far, driving that 350Z on silverstone and all...would be prize enough for me. driving the GTR in dubai would be the sugar on top. but coming this far from sitting in front of your TV and playin PS3 to THAT is awesome.

[LB.Motoring]

Theres a good amount of difference between sitting behind a tv and using your thumbs, vs fighting the car and G's for laps apon hours.

[HyperTek]

unless you got a simulation setup, since race simulators have been recognized by major racing series as a bases for real racing training.. i.e. the sim racer will have more experience over the novice.

R2P, NASA take sim racing to new heights // Front News and Announcements // Race2Play Multiplayer Online Racing (http://www.race2play.com/forum/list_posts/599)

but yah, gran turismo and forza are not really great for that purpose. as most console race games, they are "dumbed" physics for anyone to play and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVw442QG500
David Greco (2008 RFOnline Champion) versus Marco Bonanomi (GP2 Asia and World Series 3.5 Renault) before on the F1Driving simulator and after on the real Formula 3 car at the Adria International Raceway

[HyperTek]

Back in September, Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez and German Lars Schlommer were announced as winners of Nissan’s and Sony’s GT Academy. What started as a simple online time-trial tournament turned into real-life competition as the quickest drivers had the chance to prove themselves at Silverstone, showing they´re not just quick on virtual soil.

The two winners received a seat in a Nissan 350Z race- car and had the chance to compete in the Dubai 24 Hour race earlier this month, partnered by Rob Barff, Johnny Herbert and Alex Buncombe. The Pro-Am driver combination completed 451 laps, finishing 9th in class.

http://www.gtplanet.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/24hdubai.jpg

In an awesome demonstration of ‘virtual’ driving skills in the real world, GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez successfully competed in the 24 Hours of Dubai! With highly experienced teammates like former F1 driver Johnny Herbert, Alex Buncombe, and Rob Barff, the pressure was on Lucas to keep the lap times low and the car on the track. He managed to do just that, and despite a mechanical setback, helped the Nissan team finish 9th in their class 451 laps and over a distance of 2431km.

The significance of the event was not lost on Kazunori Yamauchi, who attended the race:

dsc00204“It is a dream come true for me to see my game develop a real racing driver,” he said. “I have been hoping for it to happen for ten years. Lucas’s performance has been excellent, but I would expect that from a driver trained using Gran Turismo. I haven’t had much time to watch him drive but he is very calm and never seems to worry. I always believed that someone good at GT could drive as fast as a professional; in fact, I think that they could even go faster.”

Without a doubt, this is a big milestone for motorsports and the Gran Turismo series - someone with ‘virtual’ experience held their own against some of the world’s top drivers, legitimizing ’sim racing’ as a way to break into a full blown racing career. We wish the best to both Lucas and Lars, and will be keeping an eye on them here at GTPlanet to see where they go in the future. For more on the race, check out the team’s official blog and these photos from the event.