ge4685694120095413673
ge4623721983764567446
ge4746312415864343959
ge5524037034661870258
ge5650958103516439652
Marton Pettendy3 Apr 2014
NEWS

Aussie gamers line up for Nissan factory drive

Thousands already in queue as Australia joins the virtual-to-reality Nissan PlayStation GT Academy world tour

Around 2000 Australians have put themselves in line for a career as a factory Nissan Motorsport driver simply by piloting the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy racing simulator ‘pods’ at the two ‘live events’ held so far.

Of the thousands that competed in the open-to-all ‘free play’ sessions at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne and the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercars enduro in Adelaide last month, a large number were quick enough to be invited back for Live Event ‘qualifying sessions’ at both events.

No less than 211 gun gamers registered eligible times during the nine hour-long live qualifiers held so far – four at Clipsal and five at the AGP – and more are expected to do so at the next qualifying event during Perth’s V8 Supercar round over May 16-18.

Subsequent live events, which Nissan and Sony will promote via social media, will be held in high-traffic retail areas in Sydney and Brisbane on dates to be announced.

To compete in a qualifying session, you must not only set a cracking time during free play, but meets the GT Academy’s terms and conditions by being at least 18 years old and prepared to attend the Australian and international finals and, if you win, to undergo professional physical, mental and media training.

The 14 best times from each live qualifying event count towards the Australian final, but a further 14 local finalists will be selected from an online component, which goes live later this month. Nissan will soon announce the exact date on which Sony will activate the online entry section in Gran Turismo 6 on PS3.

Of the 28 locals that contest the Australian final – to be held in Melbourne around July – only the six will be selected to go to Silverstone for international final in the third quarter of this year. Apart from PS3 GT6 ‘driving’ talent, the selection criteria will include fitness, media interviews and, eventually, ability behind the wheel of an actual Nissan sports car.

The top six Aussies will represent their nation against 24 international hopefuls from Thailand, India and the Middle East in an intensive ‘international race camp’ including driving NISMO-tuned Nissan GTRs and 370Zs on the Silverstone GP circuit.

Just one driver from each nation (the US and Germany have their own separate GT Academys, and other countries are yet to be announced) will be chosen to go head to head against their peers from other countries in the international final later this year.

The eventual 2014 International GT Academy winner will then undergo several months of intense training in Nissan’s Driver Development Program to become a NISMO Athlete and compete for Nissan in the 2015 Dubai 24 Hour in January.

If successful, there’s the potential for even bigger opportunities as a full-time Nissan factory driver, as evidenced by inaugural Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner in 2008, Spainaird Lucas Ordonez, who finished equal second in the 2009 GT4 European Cup and became the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am champion.

Ordonez, who also finished second in the LM P2 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours in both 2011 and 2013, also got his first taste of a V8 Supercar last year, testing a Nissan Altima V8 Supercar alongside his Le Mans teammate German Michael Krumm at Winton last August as part of the Nissan Global Driver Exchange program.

Another example of Nissan’s PlayStation-to-professional racer program is former video gamer and GT Academy graduate Wolfgang Reip, who competed as part of the NISMO Athlete Global Team in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Ordonez and Nissan Motorsport driver Rick Kelly in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 car.

It all finished rather badly with a crash over the top of Skyline, but Nissan Motor Company’s Global Motorsport Director, Darren Cox, said he expected many Aussie GT6 gamers to transfer their skills to the real world as part of Australia’s entry into the GT Academy.

“GT Academy is getting huge international interest and the expansion of the program to the Australian market is a great endorsement of that, especially given their impressive motorsport heritage and current V8 Supercars program,” he said.

Follow the official GT Academy and NISMO Australia on Facebook for the latest updates on the competition and the status of all GT Academy champions.

Share this article
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.