SIX British and Irish PlayStation racers are hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jann Mardenborough, the first British winner of Nissan’s GT Academy.
The six emerged triumphant at the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy National Final, staged at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit.
They have kept alive their dreams of being trained to become a real-life Nissan racing driver, as they look to win the highly acclaimed virtual-to-reality European competition.
Now entering its fourth year, more than 830,000 gamers from around Europe entered the 2012 competition, with the UK leading the way with over 161,000 entries.
The first stage of this year’s national final took place on the evening of July 17. The 32 qualifiers completed a series of nail-biting online races using virtual Nissan performance cars featured in the award-winning Gran Turismo 5 game.
Day two saw the leading pack reduced to just 12 following another round of virtual racing. Media interviews, real-life driving in a Nissan 370Z and physical tests followed, with competitors gaining points for each contest, determining which six representatives progressed to the 2012 GT Academy International ‘Race Camp’.
At the end of the second day, Des Foley, Thomas Gibson, Daniel Glover, Jack O’Neill, David Williams and Istvan Demes were announced as the winners and they can now look forward to returning to the epicentre of British motorsport in August, for the 2012 GT Academy Race Camp.
Only one of the six national representatives will progress to the final two days to race against the champions of France, Italy, Benelux, Spain and Portugal, and Austria, Switzerland and Poland.
An incredible feeling
David Williams, 23, from Devon, explained: ‘It was an incredible feeling once I found out I qualified for Race Camp. My training now will focus on fitness to get ready for Race Camp.’
The overall European winner of GT Academy 2012 will undertake a comprehensive driver development programme to prepare them for the ultimate prize of a prestigious drive in the Dubai 24-Hour race in January 2013 in a Nissan 370Z GT4 car.
In 2011, Jann Mardenborough became the first British winner of GT Academy and he is living his dream. Jann is now racing a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, and he has already recorded a podium at the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours, whilst notable results in the 2012 British GT Championship include a podium at Nürburgring and a recent win at Brands Hatch.
Mardenborough said: ‘The intensity of this year’s final reminds me how lucky I am to be a GT Academy winner. All previous winners, including myself, have been given amazing opportunities to compete in top-level motorsport, so you can understand why the competition attracts such a huge entry list around Europe.’