- Caruso to race #23 GT Academy Nissan Altima at Castrol Townsville 400
- Colours promote 2015 Nissan PlayStation GT Academy Australian Final held at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast from 17-18 July
- Fans still have a chance to qualify for GT Academy Australian Final via last chance 'live events' held at Movie World on 15-17 July
- Nissan continues to use #23 Altima to leverage motorsport activation program
- VIDEO:#23 GT Academy Nissan Altima V8 unveil https://youtu.be/kyzoFWTKM_s
MELBOURNE, Australia – Michael Caruso's #23 NISMO Nissan Altima V8 Supercar will take on a striking new look for the Castrol Townsville 400 this weekend.
To celebrate the Australian Finals of the Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast in two weeks' time, Caruso's Altima V8 will feature a special 'black chrome' GT Academy livery.
Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment Australia recently confirmed that the Gold Coast's famous Movie World theme park will play host to this year's GT Academy Australian Final, where ten of Australia's best online racers will compete 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 Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy Australian Final will be staged at Warner Bros. Movie World on Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July.
The 20 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 the 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.
The Castrol Townsville 400 kicks off on Friday with two practice sessions, followed by a pair of 200km races on Saturday and Sunday.
Michael Caruso, #23 Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy Nissan Altima V8:
"This is easily the best-looking V8 Supercar I will have the privilege of driving," said Michael Caruso.
"We see lots of different colour schemes and special designs from time to time, but this GT Academy livery is going to stick in people's minds for a long time.
"And even if people don't like it as much as I do, they won't be able to miss it – it's very shiny!
"The Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy is a great concept and I hope our new design can ensure that more and more people get down to Movie World and try and qualify for the final – there's still ten spots up for grabs!"
Richard Emery, Managing Director and CEO, Nissan Motor Co. Australia:
"Nissan is pleased to raise awareness for the GT Academy program with such a spectacular livery," said Richard Emery.
"We have enjoyed using Michael's #23 Nissan Altima V8 Supercar to promote several initiatives this year, including NISMO, NP300 Navara and GT Academy.
"GT Academy truly takes people from 'gamer to racer', as evidenced by NISMO Athletes such as Jann Mardenborough, Lucas Ordonez and of course two of this year's Bathurst 12 Hour winners, Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss.
"We are encouraging fans to head to Movie World for the upcoming 'live events', where you can qualify to compete against ten of the best Gran Turismo gamers in the country in the Australian Final.
"From there you could be one of six gamers selected to travel to Silverstone in the UK for International Race Camp, and should you win there, you are on your way to a full-time motorsport career as a NISMO Athlete.
"The ultimate would be to have an Australian gamer win International Race Camp. If we were to have an Australian GT Academy winner, who knows, one day they could be racing a Nissan Altima V8 Supercar at Bathurst."
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) is racing in the FIA 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) raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year in the Nissan 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.
Australia saw the skill of GT Academy winners first hand when Wolfgang Reip (2012 GT Academy Europe winner) and Florian Strauss (2013 GT Academy Germany winner) teamed with Japanese driver Katsumasa Chiyo to win the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour driving for the NISMO Athlete Global Team in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3.
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
