Ever since its introduction, the Nissan GT Academy has attracted over 4 million entries, and several winners have went on to become full-time motorsport drivers with the support of Nissan driver development programme.
In 2015, Jann Mardenborough (UK, winner in 2011) will be racing in the World Endurance Championship for Nissan in the top LMP1 category and in GP3 with the championship-winning Carlin team. Lucas Ordonez (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.
After receiving overwhelming response across the world, the Nissan GT Academy finally debuted in India in 2014, and hosted over 5,000 participants that year. Now in its second season, Nissan hopes to receive an even better response.
Interested participants can either reach the on-ground location set up by Nissan in different Indian cities where they get an opportunity to play Gran Turismo 6 on simulators, or they can participate from home
by using their PlayStation. People applying online need to have a copy of the Gran Turismo 6 game and a PlayStation
Network (PSN) account. The gamers with the best lap time then will go to the Nation Finals in Chennai.
The top 6 players will then compete against the world's best at the Silverstone Race Camp in the UK. Finally, the winner will get a chance to become a real-life international racer.
How does it help become actual racing drivers?
After the national finals, the selected candidates are trained in a race camp, where they work on their driving skills in Nissan sports cars under the guidance of high profile judges and mentors.
Winners, afterwards, take part in the intensive Driver Development Programme, after which they might qualify for an international race license and race for Nissan professionally. They might also join Nissan's Nismo driver line-up.
My Drive experience
At the launch of the Nissan GT Academy Season 2 in India, we had the opportunity to experience the virtual racing. Since it was my first time, it took me a good 5-7 minutes to understand the console. I was sure that it is just a game that would come nowhere being close to real world driving. I was quick to realise that I was wrong and the virtual cars need to be handled much like actual cars run, and that realisation helped me become more comfortable with it.
In my honest opinion, the console's feedback could have been slightly better as it reacts too quickly - unlike a real car. Another striking feature about this game is the suggested racing line, and gear shifts - that, I believe, can help you become a better driver on a race track.
