i dont know if this belongs here or not but Damn what an opportunity i think i will be getting a PS3 just for this game anyways! but wow!
Posted December 3 2009 11:00 AM by Andrew Peterson
Category: Motorsports
Due to the success of the first GT Academy, Nissan and Playstation are once again giving avid video game racers a chance to become professional drivers by holding another one.
In 2008, Nissan and Playstation held the first GT Academy. It gave video gamers a chance to prove their worth at a video game and then attend an intensive racing program to get behind the wheel of a race-spec Nissan 350Z in the European GT4 Cup.
Lucas Ordoņez, a 23-year Spanish student, won the first installation and his chance to campaign a 350Z in several races as well as the European GT4 Cup alongside Johnny Herbert. At the end of the 2009 European GT4 Cup, Ordoņez and Herbert found themselves in second place for the drivers standings, but winners of the Teams Championship.
For their second GT Academy, Nissan and Playstation have gone even bigger, breaking the competition up into five stages. The first stage is completely virtual and offers Gran Turismo fans a sneak preview of Gran Turismo 5. Competitors compete on a time trial-based track in the Gran Turismo 5 preview. The 20 fastest laps from each country will continue on to stage two, where the competitors will race on another Gran Turismo 5 level.
From there, 20 finalists chosen from the national events will head to the Silverstone circuit in England. There the competitors will go through a five day racing driver boot camp. Only two potential racing drivers will be chosen from the 20 that make it to the boot camp. The fourth stage sees the two competitors head to a UK-based driving and racing program where they will prepare to qualify for an international racing license. The driver who shows the most potential after the racing program wins the chance to prove their stuff competing in the European GT4 Cup in a race-spec 370Z.