Hello Everyone,

This Monday there were nervous, sweaty fingers aplenty poised on any manner of gaming peripherals…the reason? A special Gran Turismo 5 driving event that could possibly be the biggest ever race.

At precisely 15.20 BST on Monday, over 7500 Gran Turismo gamers lined up on a virtual starting grid in a unique 3-way simultaneous race that saw F1 legend David Coulthard put his driving reputation on the line in a real versus virtual driving battle quite unlike any other.

Coulthard’s real-life challenge on the Dunsfold circuit, better known as the Top Gear Test Track, was beamed live via internet to thousands, he was joined at the track by F1 race commentator Martin Brundle who presented the live race action.

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Hello Everyone

Avid PlayStation Blog readers may recall that when Gran Turismo 5 launched in November last year, alongside the standard and collector’s edition versions of the game, we also launched the GT5 Signature Edition.

Nestling amongst a host of premium content contained within the glossy sculpted metal box was the entry card to a unique competition to win a real life supercar – the gull-winged Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

The 6.2 litre dream machine that one triumphant Gran Turismo 5 gamer will eventually own is one of the world’s most sought after vehicles and delivers 571hp, acceleration of 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 317km/h.

Having honed their skills and mastered Gran Turismo 5′s in-game B-Spec mode, our 15 finalists will now take part in the real-life Mercedes-Benz GT5 Driving Challenge between 11th & 12th July at the famous Red Bull Ring in Austria in their bid for the top prize.

Standing between them and some seriously hot wheels are a number of testing challenges put together by an expert AMG driving team including former F1 star David Coulthard, and Bernd Schneider, the legendary German DTM driver.

Eventually, following a final a head-to-head drag race, one winner shall emerge with the keys to one of the world’s most exotic supercars.

To put things in context, getting yourself into one of the exclusive AMG driving schools is probably a dream enough experience for most of us, so it’s pretty incredible to think that very soon a PlayStation gamer will emerge from the Driving Challenge event as the proud owner of the flagship AMG sportscar – all from having qualified through Gran Turismo 5.

You can find full details of the fortunate 15 and follow their progress in the Signature Edition finale on Facebook.

We will be sure to bring you news of what is certain to be an extraordinary experience for all of them and one that’s going to be extra special for one person.

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I have just been privileged enough to spend the past week sharing the journey of our 12 GT Academy winners. As you may know, GT Academy is the competition we run in conjunction with Nissan to find the fastest Gran Turismo gamers and see if we can turn one of them into a racing driver.

It turns out that it is possible – as proved by Lucas Ordoñez, the Spanish who won the first Academy in 2008. Lucas went on to race two seasons in the European GT4 Cup before Nissan gave him the chance to race in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup this year in what’s called an LMP2 car (Le Mans Prototype 2). These are amazing looking cars with some serious power and so the stakes were high.

Well Lucas went to the Le Mans 24 Hour and with his more experienced Signatech Nissan team-mates, Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari, they came second in the LMP2 class. From GT gamer to the Le Mans 24 Hour podium in less than three years – incredible.

So, we decided to take the 12 GT Academy finalists – 2 each from Germany, France, Italy, UK and Holland and one each from Spain and Portugal – to watch Lucas’ story unfold and show them what they were fighting for. Le Mans was an incredible experience. Hundreds of thousands of people, an amazing race and an incredible opportunity for the boys.

On Saturday night they had a nation vs. nation endurance kart race that started in daylight and finished in the night, to give it a real Le Mans flavour. The track was right next to part of the circuit so on one side you had the real cars roaring past while our guys raced each other. The French contingent did a really good job on home soil.

After that it was a long, tired journey back to Silverstone. The guys all drove in convoy in six identical red and white Nissan 370Zs. Quite a sight.

On Monday the Academists were woken by some serious looking ex-military men with flash grenades in their dorm at Silverstone. They were then put through some punishing physical tests. It’s called ‘beasting’ in the army and I can see why. The serious side is that you need to be very fit to be a racing driver. The fitter you are the better you will concentrate, especially in 24 hour endurance racing.

Tuesday was a full day in Nissan cars at Silverstone. 370Zs and GT-Rs and they looked really good fun. Contestants recorded a benchmark lap time which was repeated at the end of Wednesday to see who had made the most progress.

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I am delighted to bring you news of the continued exploits of a PlayStation gamer who some of you may have heard of – a young chap from Spain called Lucas Ordoñez.

Those of you who are Gran Turismo or GT Academy fans may recall the story of Lucas – the winner of the inaugural GT Academy back in 2008. Following successful campaigns in the European GT4 Cup driving a Nissan 370Z, this year Lucas stepped up to race a Nissan-powered LMP2 car in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. With his Signatech Nissan team-mates, Franck Mailleux and Soheil Ayari, Lucas fulfilled a lifelong ambition by competing in one of the greatest races in the world – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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As we continue to gear up for the launch of GT Academy 2011 this Friday, it’s as good an opportunity as any to take a look at the continuing, evolving story of the winner of the very first GT Academy.

The story of the inaugural GT Academy in 2008 was very much the emergence of a gifted young Spanish driver. That driver was Lucas Ordoñez who, having won the GT Academy, quickly secured his international racing licence and lined up for his first race at the Dubai 24hr, driving alongside the former F1 driver and Le Mans winner Johnny Herbert.

Demonstrating huge potential at the Dubai race, Lucas followed this early promise with a strong showing in the 2009 European GT4 Cup driving alongside Alex Buncombe. The pair closed the season with a second place overall in the drivers’ championship, whilst achieving a notable team win for the PlayStation Nissan GT Academy team.

It is fair to say that Lucas had a frustrating time in the 2010 GT4 Cup, but still managed fourth place overall despite missing one round when he was given the chance to race an LMP2 car in the Le Mans Series race at Silverstone. He continued to show real speed and determination while his experience grew.

This week at the Geneva Motorshow, Nissan announced that the next chapter in Lucas’ remarkable journey will take place on the 11th and 12th June, when he will contest arguably the most famous race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is the third round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup series.

The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup consists of seven races in 2011. Starting with the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida on 19th March, it includes the 1,000km of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the Le Mans 24 Hours and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The series finale takes place in November in China.

All of this makes you stop to think just how incredible it is that, just over three years ago, Lucas was an MBA student who enjoyed playing Gran Turismo in his spare time. Fast forward to 2011 and he is set to notch the next milestone in a dizzying ascent from racing gamer to fully fledged international racing driver.

Have you got what it takes to make a similar journey of your own? We look forward to seeing you on the starting grid on Friday.

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