YOUR EXTRA CHANCE TO WIN A PLACE AT THE GT ACADEMY 2013 UK FINAL
Live Event wildcard competition at The O2, 1921 JulyBritish GT Academy Champion Jann Mardenborough supporting competition on 21 JulyOverall GT Academy winner will be racing a Nissan Nismo GT-R in a GT3 championship next year
Nissan and PlayStation will stage a GT Academy wildcard competition at Nissans Innovation Station at Londons O2 from 1921 July. The competition, run on PlayStations Gran Turismo game, will give the fastest four gamers across the three days a chance to bypass the online qualification process for this years GT Academy and head straight to the National Final stage.
The Sony brand space located opposite the Nissan Innovation Station at The O2 will also be themed around GT Academy for the duration of the weekend. People can pre-register to gain a fast track priority Wild Card entry by visiting http://www.nissangtawildcard.co.uk/ before 12 noon on Thursday 18 July, 2013.
A free demo of the forthcoming Gran Turismo6 game is currently available to download from the PlayStation Store. The Nissan-themed demo features the GT Academy qualification time trial that closes on 28 July. Over 100,000 UK PlayStation 3 gamers have already entered this years sofa-to-pro battle, as they compete for the ultimate prizea six-month Driver Development Programme followed by a seasons racing in a Nissan Nismo GT-R in a GT3 championship.
When the winners from the competition at The O2 get to the National Final in August, tensions will be running high as they go head-to-head with the fastest online gamers across a series of virtual and real driving challenges. The UKs top six overall will then win a place at the final roundan intensive week-long Race Camp at Silverstone in September. Wildcard winners have previously proved that they can compete against the top online gamers. Last year, wild card Jack ONeill was successful at the National Final and went on to be put through his paces at Race Camp.
Demonstrating the success of the award-winning virtual-to-reality contest, Jann Mardenborough from Cardiff competed in a Nissan-powered LMP2 race car at this years world famous Le Mans 24 Hours, only two years after being crowned GT Academy Champion. He finished in an impressive third place in class, with his team mates Lucas Ordonez (2008 GT Academy Champion) and Michael Krumm. Jann will be making an appearance at the Nissan Innovation Station throughout Sunday 21 July.
There is nothing that can compare to GT Academy, Nismo Athlete Jann Mardenborough explains. It had always been my dream to become a racing driver and I knew the competition was too good a chance to pass up, so I thought it was worth giving it my best shot. I would not have been given an opportunity to make a mark in motorsport without it. In the last two years since winning GT Academy my life has changed beyond recognition. To be able to race at Le Mans last month racing against drivers I watched on TV was an incredible feeling!
Information about GT Academy 2013 can be found on various platforms including: www.facebook.com/GTAcademy | http://eu.gran-turismo.com / | www.twitter.com/GTAcademy
