“This is either the stupidest idea ever or the most brilliant co-promotion for two brands in the history of mankind.”
– Autoblog.com 2008
LE MANS – It’s hard to believe, but until just a few years ago the only racing experience three of Nissan’s GT-R LM NISMO drivers for Le Mans had was playing Gran Turismo on their PlayStations. Impossible? No – just the extraordinary virtual-to-reality phenomenon that is GT Academy.
Now in its eighth year, GT Academy continues to offer the virtual world’s most talented drivers a unique, direct and fully funded path to the mind-blowing reality of a full-time career as professional NISMO-supported racing drivers.
Initially seen as a gimmick by established teams, racers and industry pundits, GT Academy immediately proved its worth, both as a much needed alternative route into mainstream motorsport, but also as a driver discovery and development program of unparalleled ambition, scale and success.
“Originally regarded as little more than a marketing gimmick – at least by the less enlightened corners of motorsport and the media – this audacious virtual-to-reality competition has consistently discovered precocious driving talents who would otherwise have been denied the chance to shine behind the wheel of a real racing car.”
– EVO Magazine, December 2012
That success can be seen in the string of GT Academy winners who are now racing around the world, achieving spectacular results in some of the sport’s toughest categories and most prestigious events. At Le Mans in 2011, Lucas Ordóñez finished second in the LM P2 category just three years after becoming the inaugural GT Academy winner. He followed this in 2013 by finishing third in LM P2 alongside 2011 European winner, Jann Mardenborough. It’s on the back of these and other exceptional performances that the pair have secured drives in the GT-R LM NISMO for Le Mans 2015, and why Ordóñez is enjoying a full-time drive in the Japanese Super GT Championship, while Mardenborough is battling for wins in the GP3 single-seater series.
With such inspiring role models, it’s no wonder the popularity of GT Academy continues to grow. Free to enter and open to anyone 18 or over, it is now active in 24 countries across the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and North Africa while attracting millions of competitors every year.
Initially competing against each other online, racing four different Nissan cars on four different circuits, the quickest racers progress to their respective National Finals. Here, in addition to further virtual driving challenges, their actual driving skills are also put to the test on track. The winners of each National Final then receive an invitation to Race Camp at the world-famous Silverstone circuit in the UK or the Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi. Here the select group undergoes an intensive week-long selection process before the best of the best is crowned GT Academy winner.
Since its inception back in 2008, some truly dazzling drivers have been discovered, nurtured and are now enjoying flourishing full-time professional careers. Yet just as surely as it will continue to find fresh talent – who knows, maybe even a future F1 champion? – GT Academy’s most valuable legacy is the fact that although motor racing will always be an elite sport, it is no longer elitist.
How does it feel to win GT Academy? The 2011 GT Academy Europe winner, Jann Mardenborough, let’s us know: “Sometimes it still seems crazy to think I’ve come from playing Gran Turismo in my bedroom to racing an LM P1 car at Le Mans. For quite a while after I won it was still a bit of a dream, even my first year at Le Mans in LM P2. I think I truly felt like a professional driver at Le Mans last year, when the guys putting the NISMO LM P1 team together we looking at drivers. I was like, ‘OK, I want to be a part of that,’ so every time I got in the car I treated it like a job. No excuses – just do the best I could do every time I was asked. Something clicked. From that moment it was something different for me. That’s when I knew it was my life. Racing is what I do. It’s cool. I love it.”
GT Academy Winners from the U.S.:
NICOLAS HAMMANN
2014 :: GT Academy Winner
2015:: Dubai 24 Hours, GTA- Class Second Place
NICK MCMILLEN
2013 :: GT Academy Winner
2014 :: Blancpain Endurance Series driver
2014 :: Dubai 24 Hours, SP2 Class Victory
2015 :: Two Top Ten, One Top Five Finish Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge GS Class in Three Events
STEVE DOHERTY
2012 :: GT Academy Winner
2013 :: Blancpain Endurance Series Driver
2014 :: Race Winner, Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Class – Road America
2014 :: Race Winner Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Class – Miller Motorsports Park
BRYAN HEITKOTTER
2011 :: GT Academy Winner
2012 :: Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge Series, Pole Position, 10th Place Overall, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
2012 :: Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge Series, Pole Position, 8th Place Overall, Mid-Ohio
2012 :: SCCA Solo Nationals STX Class Champion
2012 :: British GT Championships, Brands Hatch, 1st In Class (5th Overall)
2012 :: Dubai 24 Hours, 3rd in Class
2015 :: Pirelli World Challenge Championships, 1st Place in GTA Class – Barber Motorsports Park race 2
2015 :: Pirelli World Challenge Championships, 1st Place in GTA Class – Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race 1
2015 :: Pirelli World Challenge Championships, 1st Place in GTA Class – Canadian Tire Motorsports Park race 2
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