 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Gran Turismo |
| Established | 2008 |
| Defunct | 2016 |
GT Academy (also known as Nissan PlayStation GT Academy and NISMO PlayStation GT Academy as part of the Nissan partnership) was a television programme produced by Grand Central Entertainment and funded by Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment from 2008 to 2016. GT Academy provided skilled Gran Turismo players an opportunity to earn a real-life professional racing career with Nissan. [1]
GT Academy was conceived by Darren Cox, a former Nissan Europe executive, in 2006 to help Sony PlayStation racing gamers become professional racing drivers. [2] [3] A small event was held in 2006 in a partnership with Sony, where participants competed in the Gran Turismo game and on an actual track for a Nissan 350Z prize. [4] [3] Cox saw the speed in real cars of the gamers and his idea of 'Gamer to Racer' was born.
In 2008, Darren Cox's concept materialized with the founding of Nissan GT Academy, a joint venture between Sony and Nissan, which took its name from the well-known Gran Turismo video game series. [5] [3] In the same year, inaugural GT Academy competition took place, with Spain's Lucas Ordóñez claiming victory. [4] [3] Following a commendable performance at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours, Nissan enlisted Ordóñez for its works racing team. [4] Cox is portrayed by Orlando Bloom in a film named after the game Gran Turismo, released in 2023. [6] [4]
From 2010 to 2016, the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy program saw twenty-one additional winners, many of whom had success on track including Championship wins, Podiums and international races, such as the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia. [4]
GT Academy continued in 2010, expanding to 17 countries, including New Zealand and Australia. A GT Academy-oriented DLC for Gran Turismo 5 was released to the public, and was the prerequisite required for participants to qualify for the programme. The DLC was downloaded by participants more than 1.3 million times during its active period.[ citation needed ] In 2011, the competition expanded to the United States, where Bryan Heitkotter became the first GT Academy Winner outside of Europe. [7] The European competition in 2011 began at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, as inaugural GT Academy Winner Lucas Ordoñez made his Le Mans race debut. 2012 saw the beginning of live events, offering a way into GT Academy for those without access to a PlayStation 3 console or Gran Turismo game.
In 2013, GT Academy included competitions in Europe, the United States, Germany, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa, each entering the competition for the first time on Gran Turismo 6 . In 2014, a new International competition was introduced, broadening GT Academy again to Australia and the Middle East, and for the first time to India, Mexico, and Thailand. The sixth season in 2014 grew to include separate competitions for Europe (France, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Russia, Sweden, Poland, and Czech Republic), Germany, North America (United States and Canada) and an International group (Australia, India, Middle East, Mexico and Thailand). In the 2015 Dubai 24 Hour race, four new GT Academy winners finished second in the GT3 Pro-Am class and fifth overall out of 95 cars, just months after winning their respective GT Academy competitions. The round in Malaysia was planned in 2015, together with new countries such as Japan and Indonesia.
Developed for television by Executive Producers Andrew Hill and Rabin Mukerjea, the contest comprised different phases. Players began with virtual racing on Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo games and progressed to National Finals before the winners of each region competed for real in actual Nissan cars at Race Camp. This experience involved week-long testing and challenges that also involved elimination. Throughout all seasons of the programme, 'Race Camp' was based at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom where the winner was crowned to whoever demonstrated the highest potential to transition from Gran Turismo gamer to a real racer. Nissan's Driver Development Program was included to try and assist GT Academy winners to develop the skills needed to compete against those with years of car racing experience. Over six seasons, more than five million people had entered GT Academy via PlayStation 3. GT Academy winners who qualified to compete in the international race or series were also considered for a potential future racing career with Nissan as a Nismo Athlete.
According to the GT Academy site on the Gran Turismo website, GT Academy required entrants to be over the age of 18 and hold a valid driver's license, and never have a racing license equivalent to Motor Sport Association UK A class license or higher. Any contestant who made it to Race Camp in any of the previous GT Academy competitions was generally restricted to the Online Qualification stage of the GT Academy.
Players qualified for GT Academy through Gran Turismo 6 on PlayStation 3. Gamers in the participating territories signed in with their PSN (PlayStation Network) ID and entered the competition via a free automatic update on the game. They then had to compete against each other to set the fastest lap time possible in four consecutive rounds, each with a different track and Nissan vehicle, before the final round determined whether or not the player qualified for the next phase of GT Academy.
Nissan and PlayStation hosted Live Events for the qualifying rounds in the participating territories. These events allowed those who did not have a PlayStation 3 or copy of Gran Turismo 6 to enter the competition on gaming pods set up at public venues or events, such as motor shows and gaming conventions. The fastest gamers at the Live Events were granted a spot at the National Finals.
National Finals identified which gamers had real-life racing potential and determined the top selection of competitors who would progress to the next phase of GT Academy. In addition to onsite Gran Turismo 6 time trials, competitors were also tested on real driving in Nissan vehicles. Additionally, players underwent a personality test, and regular assessments of physical fitness, vision and general health.
Winners from the National Finals received a place at Race Camp, a week-long selection process that determined the GT Academy Winner. Headquartered at Stowe Circuit in the premises of Silverstone Circuit, UK, Race Camp assessed competitors both on and off the real-world track. Competitors were split into regional groups where they competed against each other and also against other territories. They were allocated a judge - each with a professional background in auto racing – responsible for mentoring and eliminating all but one of their group based on various eliminatory challenges. A head judge also oversaw the eliminations and had the ultimate responsibility of naming the GT Academy Winner. On the last day, the remaining competitors - one from each group – competed in a final race against each other, where the results of the race, along with their development over Race Camp, were taken into account, so as for the judges to determine the winner.
All activities took place within Silverstone Circuit and a number of other neighbouring venues to accommodate numerous types of challenges. On the track, these included pit stop challenge, gymkhana, dogfight, stock car racing, traffic challenge, and more, with competitors driving in buggies, single seaters, and Caterham cars, as well as actual Nissan cars such as the 370Z, Juke, GT-R, Leaf, and Pulsar. Off-track challenges typically involved an assault course, triathlon, laser challenge, written tests, interviews and more.
GT Academy Winners were invited to take part in Nissan's Driver Development Programme. Headquartered at Silverstone Circuit, UK, the Driver Development Program consisted of two-to-four months of training and racing at club and national level with the GT Academy Nissan RJN Motorsport Team in order for drivers to qualify for an International Racing License, a process that normally takes three years. This was a requirement to compete at an international endurance race – the final prize for the majority of the GT Academy Winners – which for most had been the Dubai 24 Hours. rFactor 2 is also used for the training. [8] [9]
RJN Motorsport was the racing team for GT Academy Winners for the Driver Development Programme for the entirety of GT Academy, starting from when inaugural winner Lucas Ordoñez upgraded his National B racing license to an International C racing licence after six weekends of racing.
In addition to building fitness, racing experience and theory, the Driver Development Programme also included training in the NISMO Lab, where technological equipment included Nissan's In-Body machine, which analysed body composition; a brainwave monitor, which trained the mind to simultaneously focus and relax; a BATAK console to improve peripheral vision and reaction times; a racing simulator which allowed simulated racing practice on any track in the world; a biometric harness and the JukeRide which measured biometric and telemetry data respectively.
For 2015, there were three GT Academy competitions based on region. [10] These were:
GT Academy has turned video gamers to racing drivers over a period of months, and NISMO Athletes have competed at international car racing competitions since 2009.
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lucas Ordoñez finished second in the LM P2 category in 2011, and in 2013 he finished third alongside Jann Mardenborough (2011 European winner). In 2014, Wolfgang Reip recorded the first-ever all-electric lap of the Le Mans circuit, driving the Nissan ZEOD RC.
In the Blancpain Endurance Series, Jordan Tresson was winner of the GT4 class in 2011. In 2013, the Pro-Am cup was won by Lucas Ordoñez, while the Pro-Am team cup was won by Nissan GT Academy Team RJN, which included Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip (2012 European winner), Mark Shulzhitskiy (2012 Russia winner), Peter Pyzera (2012 Germany winner) and Steve Doherty (2012 USA winner). In 2015, Wolfgang Reip became a joint Drivers' Championship Pro Cup winner.
GT Academy Winners have also competed in the Dubai 24 Hours, FIA GT Series, FIA World Endurance Championship, British GT Championship, FIA Formula 3 European Championships, British Formula Three Championship, TRS Single-Seater Series, IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, SCCA Solo National Championship and the United SportsCar Championship. In 2012, Lucas Ordoñez competed at the Petit Le Mans in the Nissan DeltaWing race car, and in 2014 began racing in the Super GT Series, class GT300, with NDDP Racing. In the same year, Jann Mardenborough began racing in the GP3 Series with Arden International, and at Motorland Aragon raced for the first time in a Formula Renault 3.5 test. In September 2014, Nissan announced that former US GT Academy Winners and finalists would be considered for Nissan's new LM P1 Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA World Endurance Championship Team.
On 8 February 2015, GT Academy graduates Wolfgang Reip (2012) and Florian Strauss (2013) teamed with Super GT driver Katsumasa Chiyo to compete in the Bathurst 12 Hour at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in Australia. Driving a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 for the NISMO Athlete Global Team in the Class AA, they completed 269 laps to claim the overall race win. [11] [12]
Mardenborough's achievements since winning GT Academy saw him named as one of the 50 most marketable athletes in the world by Sports Pro Media in 2015. [13]
In 2016, Wolfgang Reip was the first and only graduate to sign a professional contract with another manufacter than Nissan as he signed a contract with Bentley Motorsport for the Blancpain Endurance Series Cup. Nicolas Hammann became the first GT Academy graduate to compete in stock car racing (both Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 had featured NASCAR Cup Series cars), where he made two starts (all on road courses) for Mike Harmon Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Hammann made further road course starts in the Xfinity Series in 2017 and 2019.
| Season | Driver | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 |  Lucas Ordóñez | Europe | [14] |
| 2009 | Not held | ||
| 2010 |  Jordan Tresson | Europe | [15] |
| 2011 |  Jann Mardenborough | Europe | [16] |
 Bryan Heitkotter | USA | [17] | |
| 2012 |  Wolfgang Reip | Europe | [18] |
| Steve Doherty | USA | [19] | |
 Peter Pyzera | Germany | [20] | |
 Mark Shulzhitskiy | Russia | [21] | |
| 2013 |  Ashley Oldfield | Africa/Middle East | [22] |
 Miguel Faisca | Europe | [19] | |
| Nick McMillen | USA | [23] | |
| Florian Strauss | Germany | [24] | |
| Stanislav Aksenov | Russia | [25] | |
| 2014 | Gaëtan Paletou | Europe | [26] |
| Nicolas Hammann | USA | [27] | |
| Marc Gassner | Germany | [28] | |
 Ricardo Sanchez | International | [29] | |
 Ahmed Bin-Khanen | Asia | [30] | |
| 2015 | Romain Sarazin | Europe | [31] |
 Matthew Simmons | International | [32] | |
 Jose Gerard Policarpio | Asia | [33] | |
| 2016 | Johnny Guindi Hamui | International | [34] |
A fictionalized account of the GT Academy driving academy and gamer-driver Mardenborough was made into the 2023 dramatic biopic film Gran Turismo [35] starring:
Gran Turismo (GT) is a series of racing simulation video games developed by Polyphony Digital. Released on PlayStation systems, Gran Turismo games are intended to emulate the appearance and performance of a large selection of vehicles, most of which are licensed reproductions of real-world automobiles. Since the franchise's debut in 1997, over 90 million units have been sold worldwide, making it the best selling video game franchise under the PlayStation brand. An adapted film based on the series and Jann Mardenborough's career was released in August 2023 and directed by Neill Blomkamp.
Nissan Motorsports International, abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, Nissan Motorsports International Co., Ltd., formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departments, being the in-house tuning, motorsports and performance subsidiary of Nissan. It has competed in JSPC, JTCC, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. They currently participate in Super GT and Formula E. Nismo ceased to be a company in April 2022 by being merged with sister company Autech into a new Nissan subsidiary, Nissan Motorsport & Customizing.
The Nissan 350Z is a two-door, two-seater sports car that was manufactured by Nissan Motor Corporation from 2002 until 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model from August 2002. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut until the following year. Initially, the coupe came in Base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring and Track versions, while the Roadster was limited to Enthusiast and Touring trim levels. The Track trim came with lightweight wheels and Brembo brakes, but its suspension tuning was the same as all other coupes. The Nissan 350Z was succeeded by the 370Z for the 2009 model year.
Kazunori Yamauchi, nicknamed "Kaz", is a Japanese game designer and professional racing driver. He is CEO of Polyphony Digital and producer of the Gran Turismo video game series.
Satoshi Motoyama is a Japanese professional racing driver and team manager. He is best known for racing in the Super GT Series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) as a factory driver for Nissan, and for racing in the Formula Nippon Championship. He is a three-time champion of the GT500 class of Super GT, and a four-time Formula Nippon/Super Formula champion, making him one of the most successful Japanese racing drivers of all-time.
Gran Turismo 5 is a 2010 racing simulation game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fifth main installment and the tenth overall in the Gran Turismo series. It was released on November 24, 2010, in Europe and North America, and November 25, 2010, in Japan and Australasia. It was preceded by the Prologue version and is the first main entry of the series to be released for the PlayStation 3.
Lucas Ordóñez Martín-Esperanza is a Spanish racecar driver, who entered professional racing by winning a spot in a PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo competition. Racing for Nissan in the 2009 GT4 European Cup season, he secured a podium finish in his first event. Two race wins towards the end of the season secured him joint second place overall.
Jordan Tresson is a French racing driver, who previously raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Jann Mardenborough is a British professional racing driver. In 2011 he became the third and youngest winner of the GT Academy competition, beating 90,000 entrants to earn a professional racing contract with Nissan. He had no previous motorsport experience, having played sim racing video games instead. During his career, he has finished on the podium in his class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, won races and contended for titles in GT3 and junior formula cars, and competed at the highest level in Super GT, Super Formula and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The Zytek Z11SN is an LMP2-class racing car built by Zytek Engineering since 2011. Powered by a 4.5-litre Nissan V8 engine, it is an evolution of the Zytek 07S and the Zytek 09SC, updated for the new Le Mans Prototype regulations that were introduced in 2011. It was predominantly used in the European Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and a Greaves Motorsport-entered Z11SN won the LMP2 categories of both contests in 2011. In 2014, Jota Sport won the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Z11SN.
Mark Olegovich Shulzhitskiy is a Russian racing driver, who entered professional racing by winning a spot in a PlayStation 3 Gran Turismo competition.
The Nismo Global Driver Exchange was an initiative from Nissan and Nismo to share driving experience from various motor racing categories around the world.
Alexander John Buncombe is a British racing driver. He is a part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange. He is the brother of Chris Buncombe.
The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo is a sports prototype racing car built by the Nissan Motor Company and their motorsports division Nismo. Designed for the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) regulations of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GT-R LM was unique amongst Le Mans Prototypes at the time for utilizing a front mid-engine layout for its internal combustion engine, as opposed to the rear mid-engine layout used by nearly all other competitors in the category. It was Nissan's first prototype chassis since the R391 in 1999, although the company had developed engines in recent years. The car was branded after the Nissan GT-R road car and shares similar engine and drivetrain configurations, but is not related to the sports car. The GT-R LM Nismo program was announced on 23 May 2014, while the car was publicly shown for the first time in a Nissan commercial during Super Bowl XLIX on 1 February 2015. It was retired from competition at the end of 2015, after having only competed unsuccessfully at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour was an endurance race for a variety of GT and touring car classes, including: GT3 cars, GT4 cars and Group 3E Series Production Cars. The event, which was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 8 February 2015, was the thirteenth running of the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Katsumasa Chiyo is a Japanese factory racing driver, currently competing in the Autobacs Super GT Series as a factory driver for Nissan. He is a graduate of the Nissan Driver Development Program (NDDP), and a past champion of the Bathurst 12 Hour race, and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.
Mitsunori Takaboshi is a Japanese racing driver. In 2017, he was crowned champion in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship.
Gran Turismo is a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Neill Blomkamp from a screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin. Produced by Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, and 2.0 Entertainment, it is based on the racing simulation video game series of the same name developed by Polyphony Digital. It tells the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player who became a professional racing car driver. The film stars Archie Madekwe as Mardenborough alongside David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou.
Darren Cox is a British businessman and automotive and motorsport executive who is known as the creator and director of GT Academy. A character based on Cox is portrayed by Orlando Bloom in the film Gran Turismo.
The Nissan GT-R upheld its predecessor's exceptional pedigree in motorsports, competing across a range of racing disciplines and attaining success. Notable motorsport achievements came through from its participation in sports car racing, including championship triumphs in the approvingly competitive FIA GT1 World Championship, GT World Challenge and in the Super GT series. As well as in endurance races, consistently vying at the top in the Bathurst 12 Hour, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours among others. The car was used as official safety cars in numerous motorsport events, such as in the Super GT series, FIA GT1 World Championship, British Superbike Championship, and in the Supercars Championship as well.
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