SILVERSTONE, England  – The inaugural Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy International Race Camp drew to a thrilling conclusion at the UK's Silverstone circuit today as Ricardo Sánchez, 24 from Toluca in Mexico, was crowned champion.

He will now go on to enjoy four months in one of the most advanced and successful driver development programmes in the world before racing for the Nissan NISMO race team in the international Dubai 24 Hour race in January 2015.

Ricardo now has the chance to show that he has what it takes to become a NISMO Athlete and race all over the world for Nissan, following in the footsteps of the likes of Lucas Ordoñez (now racing in Japanese Super GT) and Jann Mardenborough (a racer-winner this year in the
highly-competitive GP3 Formula 1 feeder series).

Ricardo won his place at Race Camp from the hundreds of thousands of Gran Turismo® gamers that entered the competition across Australia, India, Mexico, the Middle East and Thailand. Having won through National Finals, he arrived at Silverstone as one of 6 to represent Mexico, alongside 27 International competitors overall, representing 6 countries split into five territory groups.

Over the course of six days, the competitors were put through their paces both on and off track. They enjoyed some of the best racing instruction and mentoring in the world in a range of Nissan cars, including the mighty GT-R, the 370Z NISMO and 370Z race cars. Each group formed a close bond with their territory judge, who acted as a mentor, but then had to make the difficult decisions when it came to eliminations from the competition.

 

As well as the circuit driving and assessment, the competitors were judged on a series of challenges that included the Mud Mayhem assault course, Nissan Micra Stock Car racing, the Traffic Challenge in the Nissan GT-R, the Dirt Track Time Trial in the Nissan Juke, the
head-to-head Gymkhana, Buggy Racing, and a head-to-head Dogfight pursuit race in Nissan 370Zs. Each challenge was accompanied and assessed by their judges that included ex-F1 test driver Dani Clos, V8 Supercar legend Rick Kelly, ex-F1 racer Karun Chandhok, Rally Driver and Drift King Abdo Feghali and renowned Thai Formula racer Tor Graves.

The race started as the Middle East's Ahmed Bin-Khanen took immediate lead over Thanaroj Thanasitnitiket of Thailand, who then fell back into fourth just ahead of Abhinay Bikkani from India. Josh Muggleton, who started last on the starting grid following Australia's last minute
topple in yesterday's qualifier, made an immediate push to third, putting enormous pressure on Ricardo who went straight into second after his third place start. Ricardo and Josh then took the race to a new level as they raced ahead of the other three teams and widened the gap in what continued as a two man chase for the chequered flag, with Ricardo refusing to lift his lead. While Josh made the race's fastest lap towards the final minutes, it wasn't enough to overcome the Mexican's resilience at the front, and the race was won by Ricardo with a lead of 6/10 of a second over Josh.

After some heated judges' deliberations, it fell to GT Academy head judge Robb Barff to announce the winner on the Silverstone National podium.

"I am proud of the continued globalisation of this important brand asset for Nissan and it's great to see countries with little Motorsport heritage competing as we seek to democratise the sport," said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing and Sales, NISMO.

"We now begin the task of developing our new international winner but alongside that we will be reviewing the winners from each of the International territories to see if we can get them more involved in motorsport in the future, as well as looking forward to welcoming even more countries to the programme next year".

 

Ricardo Sanchez, GT Academy 2014 International Champion:

"I don't even know what to think! I'm excited, I'm nervous and I don't know what to expect in the coming months. I'll give everything I have in the training programme and I'll try to win the 24 Hours of Dubai. I'll do everything I can to show that I deserve to be a NISMO Athlete." "My dream now is to win for Nissan at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and at the Nürburgring. But there is still a way to go until I get there, but I have that chance now so I'm going to take it!"

Rob Barff , GT Academy 2014 International Head Judge:

"I'm very proud of all the guys. They've put in a massive amount of effort and come an enormously long way. The journey might be over for most but for Ricardo the journey has just begun. He now starts the hard part, the driver development programme and I look forward to
seeing him at Dubai."

"The beauty of this week was how close it was, nobody was set apart. It was a three-way tie almost between Thailand, Mexico and Australia ahead of the final event. Whoever won the race was going to come out on top, and although it was close we feel Ricardo has more to give than the others."

"To Ricardo, my advice is simple. Listen to the coaching. Drive fast. Don't crash!"

Dani Clos, Mexico Judge:

"This is just a great opportunity for these kids to show their potential. You know, they come from out of nowhere through PlayStation to become a professional race car driver, with the chance to drive at Dubai 24 hours and go even further. I'm just really happy that we were able to improve during these days, and that we were able to build a proper driver. There's a lot work to do from now on and it's the first day in a new life for Ricardo, but this is just a great feeling and I'm just so happy for him to be able to live this dream."

Rick Kelly (Australia Judge):

"It's definitely disappointing that we didn't come away with the win because Australia have done such a great job since we got here to Silverstone, a little over a week ago now, but at the end of the day the Mexican team won the race, so it was hard to sway everyone's opinion around. And also, Ricardo did such a good job on all the challenges. He's got a lot of potential and he's a great young guy so it's a great thing.

"From my point of view, it's great to represent Australia over here for the very first time in the GT Academy. It's really opened my eyes to the entire program, not only what's shown on TV, but what training goes into the drivers away from the cameras as well - on the track with really experienced instructors next to them, in a lot of different cars. It's every kid's and young guy's dream to come over here and be able to participate in something like that, so in my point of view, it's really opened my eyes to the entire program and I really hope we can get an Australian group together next year, do a little bit more playing, come back a little bit stronger, and make sure that we take it out and get an Australian into the GT Academy and fill in that success of being able to become a race car driver, because today Australian motorsport, and in motorsport around the world, it is so hard to give somebody that opportunity.

Josh Muggleton (Australia):

"I'm gutted of course, but I knew they couldn't really take a race win away from Ricardo. I'm proud of coming second after starting at the back and I know it must have been close between Ricardo and me but I wish him all the best for the future. 

"I'm definitely going to continue to race. I'm going to knock on every door I can until I'm back in a racing car. I intend to use this as platform to forge my own career back home and gain a little exposure so I'm sure this is not the end."

More details about GT Academy 2014 can be found on various platforms including: www.facebook.com/GTAcademy, www.gran-turismo.com and Twitter @GTAcademy.

Follow the official GT Academy http://www.facebook.com/GTAcademy page and NISMO Australia http://www.facebook.com/NismoAUS on Facebook for the latest updates on the competition and status of all GT Academy Champions. Also be sure to follow the #GamerToPro
hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.

About Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy:

  • GT Academy is an international virtual-to-reality contest that allows the best Gran Turismo gamers to compete for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a real-life professional race driver. Any player who proves his or her skill in the virtual world has a chance to go wheel-to-wheel in a real race car on a real circuit to achieve the grand prize – a spot on the Nissan racing team, and all the training and licensing needed to race in international events.
  • Created in 2008 by Sony Computer Entertainment and Polyphony Digital Inc., in collaboration with Nissan, this competition has grown in popularity all over the world, with GT Academy competitions taking place everywhere from Germany to the USA and Russia to the Middle East. The top Gran Turismo gamers are identified in a series of online time trials or from live events using pre-selected digital Nissan vehicles. Thousands of hopefuls are narrowed down to a select few, who will then participate in a National Final Event where they battle in special racing pods during a series of Gran Turismo rounds, real driving skill challenges, a fitness challenge and a media test.
  • The top performers from these National Finals are then invited to take part in the Final Selection Round - an intense Race Camp competition held at the famous Silverstone Racing Circuit in England. Here, the action jumps from the virtual cars of the PS3 game to actual Nissan sports cars, as competitors are tested on their strength, stamina, mental agility and driving skills. Judges look for pure talent, drive, passion and dedication to determine who really has what it takes to become a professional race car driver.
  • A television show documenting the intense competition and training for the final GT Academy competitors will be aired on national television channels. Follow the official GT Academy http://www.facebook.com/GTAcademy page and NISMO Australia page www.facebook.com/NismoAUS on Facebook for the latest updates on the competition and status of all GT Academy Champions.

About Sony Computer Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE). SCEE, based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation®4 (PS4®) computer entertainment system, PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) portable entertainment system, PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment system, PSPTM (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and PSN software and hardware in 109 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE has revolutionised home entertainment since they launched PlayStation® in 1994. PlayStation®4 redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalisation and deeply integrated social capabilities. PS Vita is an ultimate portable entertainment system that offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context. PS3® is an advanced computer system, incorporating the powerful Cell Broadband Engine and RSX processors. PSP® is a handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games with high-quality full-motion video and high-fidelity stereo audio. SCEE also delivers the PlayStation® experience to open operating systems through PlayStation®Mobile, a cross device platform. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories.

More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.au.playstation.com

PlayStation®, PS4, PS3, PS2 and PSP are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Computer

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About the Gran Turismo® Franchise

Gran Turismo® celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2013, having first appeared internationally in 1998. The multi-award-winning franchise has been the most successful ever for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it also surpassed worldwide sales of 70 million units. Various iterations of Gran Turismo have been created for PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®3 and PSP (PlayStation® Portable), and have always been regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever created due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and design.

Since the inception of Gran Turismo, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in Japan have revolutionized the racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the most realistic driving simulation in the industry and a unique medium for automotive manufacturers to showcase their products. Gran Turismo®5, the latest iteration of the game, was released on 24 November, 2010 and has sold 10 million units worldwide. Gran Turismo®6 was released in December 2013 taking over the entire city of Ronda to celebrate the occasion.

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 almost 5.2 million vehicles and generated revenue of 10.5 trillion yen (USD 105 billion) in fiscal 2013. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now 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

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