GT Academy 2012 Qualifying Enters Final Phase

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Hello Everyone

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This is a big week for all those who have been involved in the exciting GT Academy 2012 competition that started in May as the final online qualifying rounds went live today at midnight. Over 700,000 people in the participating European countries have downloaded the special Gran Turismo demo created by Polyphony Digital. But players can still get involved as the download will remain available on PlayStation Store right up until the competition closes at 23:59 BST on 24 June (don’t forget that’s 00:59 on 25 June for most of Europe!).

If you are entering late, all you have to do is complete all the challenges and then you’ll be ready for the final challenge – round 8, challenge 5, which is the all-important time trial. It is the time trial lap of the Motegi Twin Ring short course that will decide the leaderboard in each country, so this is the big one!

The other hugely important thing you need to know, whether you are just joining the process or have been playing from the beginning, is that anyone who wants to be in with a chance to proceed through to the national finals has to now go to eu.gran-turismo.com to register. You’ll find the full terms and conditions on there, but, in a nutshell, you have to be over 18, resident in one of the participating countries, have a full driving licence and no significant previous motor sport experience. But please do read the terms and conditions fully to avoid disappointment down the line! Boring but important, I’m afraid.

If you are still not sure about whether to play or register, let me just remind you what is at stake in the GT Academy competition! The winners (one each from Europe*, Germany, Russian Federation and USA) will embark on a comprehensive racing driver development programme before an entry into the prestigious Dubai 24 Hours race in a Nissan 370Z in January, 2013.

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Former GT Academy winners Lucas Ordoñez from Spain and Frenchman Jordan Tresson will both be in action at this weekend’s famous Le Mans 24 Hours in Le Mans prototype cars powered by Nissan. Both are in with a realistic chance of winning (Lucas was second in the LMP2 class last year and is sharing the car with former F1 driver Martin Brundle this time).

Meanwhile, the 2011 winner, Jann Mardenborough from the UK, is racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship in a Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 in 2012 and doing really well. So, if you had any doubts about whether or not it is worth giving GT Academy a go, I think that’s your answer! It really can be a life-changing experience.

The final two rounds of the qualifying demo are again split into five challenges in each and feature the Nissan 370Z and Nissan GT-R Black on a variety of circuits and conditions – including cornering at night, an essential skill for Lucas and Jordan at Le Mans this weekend. As I said, the final time trial around Motegi will make up the leaderboard that can be viewed on gran-turismo.com. In most countries, the top 16 will go through to the national finals, which are a pretty good prize in themselves. In some countries there are also still a few ‘live events’ taking place that offer an additional route into the national finals so keep an eye out for those.

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Good luck, and don’t forget to register at gran-turismo.com!

*GT Academy Europe: UK and Ireland; France; Italy; Spain and Portugal; Benelux; and Austria, Switzerland and Poland

Details of how to enter GT Academy Europe 2012 can be found on various platforms including: www.facebook.com/GTAcademy and http://eu.gran-turismo.com.

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