Nissan, Playstation launch GT Academy to scout for racing talent

Nissan and Playstation have launched Nissan Playstation GT Academy, a driver discover and development programme that could well be a gateway to motorsports for India’s motor racing aspirants.

Now in its sixth year, the Academy has been popular in Europe, Russia, the US, the Middle East and South Africa. Now, India has become part of this international league.

The GT Academy’s Indian qualifying rounds will begin with a live event in high-footfall shopping malls in five main cities and, at a later stage, also include an online qualifying round hosted on the Playstation Network (PSN). The inaugural round is slated for February 6 at the Auto Expo at the Greater Noida site. 

“We are delighted to launch the GT Academy in India. Bringing the programme here reinforces our commitment to growing the Nissan brand and developing relationships with both existing and potential customers,” said Mathew De La Haye, Nissan’s vice-president – communication, Africa, Middle East, India and Europe.  

The GT Academy offers aspiring racers and gaming enthusiasts an opportunity to register, compete and potentially win a place in the driver discovery and development programme. It is a virtual-to-reality programme that tests the racing acumen of the enthusiasts through a time-trail competition on Playstation GT6 racing simulators. The time-trials should be considered as qualifying rounds and will be hosted at shopping malls in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

Out of the five cities, 14 contestants who clock the quickest lap times will be eligible to compete in the national final, which is the first gateway to the GT Academy’s international Race camp. These 14 contestants will undergo a two-day intensive physical and mental training examination programme to filter out the six contestants who will be eligible to compete in the international race camp at Silverstone in the UK.

The Silverstone Race Camp will include the six shortlisted Indian contestants and pit them against 18 qualified contestants. Under expert supervision, all contestants will undergo and endure exhaustive training for mental and physical strength. Their driving skills will be tested and honed on the Formula One Silverstone motor racing circuit in Nismo-tuned Nissan 370Zs and GT-Rs.

The GT Academy’s Silverstone Race Camp will eliminate all but one overall winner, one from any one of the competing nations, who will then advance to the driver development programme and learn all the skills necessary to compete in an international ‘graduation race.’

“For many reasons, having India join the GT Academy programme has been a long-held personal objective of mine and I’m proud that it has now come to fruition,” said Darren Cox, Nissan’s director of global motorsports.

Since 2008, the Nissan Playstation GT Academy driver discovery and development programme has seen 4 million people register, 1.2 million of them in 2013 alone.