Every winner of GT Academy has a very hard lesson to learn after graduation. As a gamer you can crash your race car, press the reset button and rejoin the race. When you are racing for real a crash is a very different prospect.
Jann Mardenborough, the 20-year-old British winner of GT Academy 2011, has been racking up the podium places in the GT4 Nissan 370Z, collecting all the signatures he needs for his international racing licence that will allow him to race in the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours. Last Saturday reality decided to bite back at the virtual-to-real racer.
Competing in a round of the GT4 European Cup at the notoriously tricky Zandvoort Circuit in Holland, Jann was out on track during the practice session when he suddenly found himself upside down.
“Coming into the last corner I got a bit loose and just couldn’t catch it in time,” Jann explained afterwards. “It all went by in a flash but I didn’t get hurt at all and to be honest I am just annoyed with myself.”
The Nissan 370Z went off the track backwards and then rolled over before landing hard, back on all four wheels. Jann was immediately taken to the Medical Centre on site where he was pronounced fully fit and cleared to race.
Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for his race car. Suspecting a bent chassis Bob Neville and the RJN Motorsport team decided to call it a day and head back to the UK.
“I think Jann has just demonstrated that the reality of being a racing driver isn’t easy,” said Bob. “We work the drivers hard as we are training them to compete at the highest level, just as Lucas (Ordonez) did at Le Mans this year. It was good to see that Jann had a typical racing driver’s reaction to his accident; he was furious with himself! It was also good to hear the scrutineers tell us that our car has a fantastic roll cage. It was a big impact and Jann walked away unscathed, which is always the most important thing.”
Jann will now dust himself off and prepare for his next race with the words of Bob Neville echoing in his head.
“If you don’t go off every once in a while, you are not trying hard enough.”
LUCAS ORDONEZ ON JANN MARDENBOROUGH’S ACCIDENT“When people ask me ‘what is the biggest difference between virtual and real racing’ I always say that on a PlayStation you can press the restart button when you crash but in reality you can hurt yourself.
“Since I won GT Academy I haven’t had a big accident like Jann’s. Touch wood! I do know though that when you are testing and make mistakes and go off the track, it makes you think about the risks we all take when we race.
“I remember the first time I made contact with another car. It was at Paul Ricard in the GT4 car in 2010. I was pushing hard to finish on the podium with the new 370Z when the fastest man on track overtook me. I kept him on my left hand side but on the exit of the corner we made contact. I ended up with broken suspension and a DNF. It was a hard moment for me but this is racing and you need to fight and take risks to be the fastest.
“Jann has a difficult moment but he needs to learn from his accident, think about what happened and how he can avoid it in future. He has to be strong and positive to keep learning. He should also remember that even the best drivers in the world make mistakes every once in a while.”
