GT Academy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The GT Academy (also The NISMO PlayStation GT Academy ) is a casting and funding program by Nissan and Sony PlayStation for the alternative recruitment of talented drivers via e-sports . The GT Academy enables Gran Turismo players to transition from virtual racing simulations to real motorsport in a Nissan motorsport team.

background

The GT Academy is a combination of esports tournaments and racing driver school and was launched in June 2008 in collaboration between Nissan Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Polyphony Digital. The then Global Head of Sales, Marketing and Brand of Nissan, Darren Cox, is considered to be the inventor of the GT Academy .

The program consists of four different phases. Phase one is only completed virtually on PlayStations, the participants compete against each other as players in the Gran Turismo racing simulation . Phase two is then supplemented by practical exercises. In the Race Camp, the focus is on training. Phase four consists of the driver development program, with qualification for a driver license and entry into real motorsport.

By 2014, more than five million participants had taken part in the GT Academy via their PlayStation and 16 participants had started a motorsport career.

Phases

Phase 1: qualification

In phase 1, all Gran Turismo players can register and take part in the national preliminary rounds of the GT Academy online on their PlayStation with their PSN (PlayStation Network) ID. The qualifications run in the racing simulation on different tracks and Nissan vehicles. The fastest participants qualify for phase 2.

Nissan and PlayStation also conduct local qualifications at public appointments and events so that players without a PlayStation, PSN ID or network access can also participate. The fastest participants in a local event qualify directly for the national final.

Phase 2: National Finals

2011 winner Jann Mardenborough attending the 2013 UK Final

In the national finals, the participants will be determined who have a real chance of participating in the next phase of the GT Academy. In addition to the on-site tournaments, the competitors are also tested on real vehicles. In addition, the drivers go through personality, fitness, motivation and health tests.

Phase 3: The Race Camp

The participants of the GT-Academy-Europa Race-Camp 2014

The Race Camp is a training center and one-week selection process in which the GT Academy winners are determined. The Race Camp is headquartered in Great Britain on the Stowe Circuit on the grounds of the Silverstone Circuit .

The participants are divided into regional groups. Experienced mentors and experts are assigned to each group. At the end a winner will be chosen in each group.

In 2014, the former Formula 1 driver Nick Heidfeld was a mentor at Race Camp Germany. The Race Camp Europe was accompanied by Johnny Herbert , among others .

The group winners of the Race Camp then get a place in one of the international series in which Nissan is active.

Phase 4: Driver Development Program

The driver development program is headquartered at the Silverstone Circuit. The development program consists of two to four months of training with training and racing at club sport and national level. The proven national assignments are required as a qualification for the issue of the international driver's license. The international driver's license is a mandatory requirement in order to be allowed to start at international events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans or Dubai .

The development program also includes fitness training and more extensive training.

Entry requirements

Participants must be at least 18 years old. Qualifications from previous events for the Race Camp are not taken into account and the elimination runs must be completed again.

Competition groups and their winners

The GT Academy originally started as a purely European competition. In the third year of the event, 2011, the competition was expanded to the United States and in 2014 it was expanded to an international event with four groups:

Group 1: Europe ( France , Italy , United Kingdom , Spain , Portugal , Belgium , Netherlands , Luxembourg , Russia , Sweden , Poland and the Czech Republic )

Group 2: Germany

Group 3: North America (United States and Canada )

Group 4: International ( Australia , India , Middle East , Mexico and Thailand ).

year group winner
2008 Europe SpainSpain Lucas Ordoñez
2009 not held
2010 Europe FranceFrance Jordan Tresson
2011 Europe United KingdomUnited Kingdom Jann Mardenborough
United States United StatesUnited States Bryan Heitkotter
2012 Europe BelgiumBelgium Wolfgang Reip
Russia RussiaRussia Mark Schulschizki
Germany GermanyGermany Peter Pyzera
United States United StatesUnited States Steve Doherty
2013 Europe PortugalPortugal Miguel Faisca
Russia RussiaRussia Stanislav Aksenov
Germany GermanyGermany Florian Strauss
United States United StatesUnited States Nick McMillen
2014 Europe FranceFrance Gaëtan Paletou
Germany GermanyGermany Marc Gassner
United States United StatesUnited States Nicolas Hammann
International MexicoMexico Ricardo Sanchez
2015 Asia PhilippinesPhilippines Jose Gerard Policarpio
International AustraliaAustralia Matthew Simmons
Europe FranceFrance Romain Sarasin

Status: 10/2015

GT Academy Competitions 2015

In 2015, three GT Academy competitions are planned:

  • GT Academy Europe: France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Spain / Portugal, Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) and CEE (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic)
  • GT Academy Asia: Japan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia
  • GT Academy International: USA, Australia, Mexico, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey

Exemplary successes of the graduates in real motorsport

The GT Academy team at the 2013 Le Mans 24-hour race (from left to right: Pyzera, Ordoñez, Mardenborough, Reip)

At the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans , Lucas Ordoñez came in second in the LMP2 class and at the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours , he and Jann Mardenborough in the team came third.

In 2011 Jordan Tresson became champion in the GT4 class of the Blancpain Endurance Series .

In 2013 Lucas Ordoñez won the Pro-Am Cup and the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN won the Blancpain Endurance Series PRO-AM Cup . Jann Mardenborough, Wolfgang Reip, Mark Schulschizki, Peter Pyzera and Steve Doherty started in the team.

In 2014, Wolfgang Reip drove the very first lap of an all-electric racing car , the Nissan ZEOD RC , at the Le Mans 24-hour race .

On June 20, 2015 at the 1000 km Paul Ricard , the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN achieved overall victory in a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 .

Lucas Ordoñez


Single results
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Jann Mardenborough

Single results
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Mark Schulschizki

Single results
Swell:

Awards

  • 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Gold Lion, Best Use of Branded Content
  • 2011 'Campaign' magazine Media Awards, Best Transport Campaign
  • 2011 'Campaign' magazine Media Awards, Best Media and Entertainment Campaign
  • 2011 Media Week Awards, Best International Campaign
  • 2012 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Bronze Lion, Best Use of Branded Content
  • 2013 AUTOSPORT Awards, Pioneering and Innovation Award

Web links

Commons : GT Academy  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ gran-turismo.com
  2. ↑ Roman Wittemeier: Nissan: Darren Cox takes his hat! Motorsport-Total.com, October 30, 2015, accessed October 30, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Nissan PlayStation® GT Academy goes from strength to strength. In: Nissan Online Newsroom. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Graduates - GT Academy. (No longer available online.) In: gran-turismo.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015 ; accessed on October 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gran-turismo.com
  5. ↑ How to enter the 2014 GT Academy. In: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  6. ^ GT Academy virtual-to-reality racing competition confirmed for 2012. In: www.fleetnews.co.uk. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  7. ^ National Finals - GT Academy. In: gran-turismo.com. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Inside the Nissan GT Academy International final. (No longer available online.) Drive.com.au, archived from the original on September 23, 2015 ; Retrieved October 8, 2015 (American English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.drive.com.au
  9. ↑ 2014 European GT Academy Winner Decided. In: gran-turismo.com. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Giles Richards: From gamer to racing driver. In: the Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2015 .
  11. ↑ FAQ - GT Academy. (No longer available online.) In: gran-turismo.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015 ; accessed on October 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gran-turismo.com
  12. ↑ European GT Academy 2015 winner announced , GT Academy website, report from October 14, 2015, accessed on October 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ facebook.com
  14. ↑ Blancpain Endurance Series PRO-AM Cup Drivers . Blancpain Endurance Series , 2013, archived from the original on March 10, 2016 ; accessed on July 1, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
  15. ↑ Career statistics by Lucas Ordoñez (English), accessed on October 7, 2015.
  16. ↑ Lucas Ordoñez. In: Gran Turismo . Sony Interactive Entertainment , accessed July 1, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Career statistics by Jann Mardenborough (English), accessed on October 7, 2015.
  18. ↑ Career statistics by Mark Schulschizki (English), accessed on October 7, 2015.
  19. ↑ Awards. Retrieved October 6, 2015 .
  20. ↑ GT Academy wins two & # 145; CAMPAIGN & # 146; Media Awards. Retrieved October 6, 2015 .
  21. ↑ GT Academy wins two & # 145; CAMPAIGN & # 146; Media Awards. Retrieved October 6, 2015 .
  22. ↑ ABOUT PROJECT. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 3, 2015 ; accessed on October 6, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / boomerang.co.uk
  23. ↑ Awards. Retrieved October 6, 2015 .
  24. ↑ Mitchell Scott: AUTOSPORT Awards: Nissan GT Academy wins Pioneering and Innovation. December 1, 2013, accessed October 6, 2015 .