- Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy Australian Final to be held at the world-famous Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast
- Head to Warner Bros. Movie World to qualify via 'live events' for ten places available in the Australian Final
- Ten live event winners to compete against ten best gamers from online play in Australian Final
- Six gamers then selected from Australian Final to head to Silverstone F1 circuit in the UK for GT Academy International Race Camp
- Gamers from around the world compete at Race Camp for the change to become a professional race driver for Nissan and NISMO
- More information available online at nissan.com.au/GT15
GOLD COAST, Australia – Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment Australia have confirmed that the unique setting of Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast will be the home of this year's Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy Australian Final.
The Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy Australian Final will be staged at Warner Bros. Movie World on Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July, with ten of Australia's best online racers competing against ten contestants who will qualify via last chance 'live events'.
With online qualifying concluded, the only way to now earn a place in the Australian Final is via 'live events' to be held at Warner Bros. Movie World in the week leading into the final.
Two contestants will be selected each day via live events held from Wednesday 15 July to Friday 17 July at 11:00am to 3:00pm, with a further four selected on Saturday 18 July from 10:00am to 12:00pm (noon).
The ten finalists selected from these live events will then be combined with the top ten contestants from online play in Gran Turismo®6 to form the 20 competitors for the Australian Final, to be conducted at Warner Bros. Movie World on Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July.
Contestants in the Australian Final will compete in gaming on Gran Turismo®6 on PlayStation®3, fitness tests, media sessions and on-track driving challenges in Nissan sportscars. The Australian final will be overseen by a group of experts led by Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercars driver and Australian GT Academy judge and mentor Rick Kelly.
The six best contestants from the Australian Final will then join Kelly in flying to Silverstone F1 circuit in the United Kingdom for the 2015 GT Academy International Race Camp in August, where Australian hopefuls will compete against finalists from Mexico, Turkey, northern Africa and the United States for the chance to become a professional racing driver for Nissan and NISMO.
While at Race Camp, finalists will compete in various on and off-track challenges, including driving Nissan road cars and race cars on the famous Silverstone circuit. The winner of the International Race Camp will then be put through the intensive Nissan Driver Development Programme to ready them for a drive with NISMO at the 2016 Dubai 24 Hour sportscar race.
In last year's International Race Camp, Australian contestant Josh Muggleton went agonisingly close to winning the major prize, only to be pipped by Mexican Ricardo Sanchez in the final race. In 2015, Sanchez is racing a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 in the prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series in Europe.
Previous GT Academy graduates continue to impress around the world, including Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss, who joined Katsumasa Chiyo in winning the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 at Mount Panorama in February. Three of the nine Nissan LM P1 drivers at this year's Le Mans 24 Hour were GT Academy graduates (Lucas Ordonez, Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy).
QUOTES
Rick Kelly, Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercars driver and Australian GT Academy mentor:
"Last year was the first year I was involved in GT Academy and it opened my eyes to what the prize really means and what's on offer," said Rick Kelly.
"It's not just about a trip to Silverstone and the chance to drive some cars – there's a career as a professional racing driver up for grabs. The prize is huge.
"Motorsport is extremely difficult to get into at a professional level and if I was a youngster trying to establish myself, this is the route that I'd focus a lot of energy on.
"The 'live events' at Movie World are a massive opportunity to fast track yourself to the Australian Final. If you haven't been able to qualify online, then this is your last opportunity to get in the running. And if it doesn't work out, at least you'll be able to spend the day at Movie World!"
About Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy 2015
GT Academy is a collaboration between PlayStation® and Nissan that uses the virtual world of the Gran Turismo®6 game to unearth real-world racing talent. Now in its seventh year, GT Academy includes separate competitions for Europe (France, Italy, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic), International group (Australia, Mexico, North Africa, Turkey and United States) and Asia (India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan).
The GT Academy qualification round will be part of a free Gran Turismo®6 update on PlayStation®3 (terms and conditions apply). The fastest gamers in each participating territory gain access to their region's National Final event. A number of competitors can also gain access via a series of Live Gran Turismo events organised locally. The National Finals add driving, fitness and a media element to the gaming.
From National Finals, the action moves onto the legendary Race Camp, where the competitors are put through their paces on track in Nissan sports cars under the watchful eyes of high profile judges and mentors. Winners from each competition will be invited to take part in the intensive Driver Development Programme. They could qualify for an international race license and race for Nissan professionally, with the chance to potentially join Nissan's elite Nismo Athletes.
Previous winners of GT Academy are now regular racing drivers. In 2015, Jann Mardenborough (UK, winner in 2011) will be racing in the World Endurance Championship for Nissan in the top LM P1 category and in GP3, a feeder series to Formula One, with the championship-winning Carlin team. Lucas Ordoñez (Spain, winner in 2008) will be racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year in the Nisan GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 entry, alongside Mardenborough. The 2014 Champions, Gaetan Paletou (Europe) and Ricardo Sanchez (International) are competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN.
News and views on GT Academy 2014 and the progress of all the GT Academy drivers can be followed on various platforms including: www.facebook.com/GTAcademy, www.twitter.com/GTAcademy, www.youtube.com/gtacademyeurope, www.flickr.com/photos/gtacademyeurope.
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (USD 103.6 billion) in fiscal 2014. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. Nissan leads the world in zero-emission mobility, dominated by sales of the LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle. It is the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN
