Nissan GT Academy Reality Show to Air on Speed Network

If you like playing Nissan‘s GT Academy, you’ll want to watch the TV series that uses the popular video game to find the next racing superstar. Catch the five-part reality show on the Speed Network, where virtual gamers will compete for their chance to become a professional race car driver.

You get to see the last of a three-part competition, which started with 54,000 people that took to digital racetracks of GT5, hoping to take home the grand prize – a professional racing contract with Nissan. The gamers first competed online, racing Nissan vehicles on a variety of virtual raceways. Only 32 made the cut and they went to Orlando, Florida, to battle it out for the top 16 positions available.

Over the course of a week, the TV show was shot at the Silverstone Racing Complex in Silverstone, England. The brave 16 contestants were subjected to a series of physical and mental challenges, putting their skills to the test with an assortment of races and boot camp-style workouts. Judging to see who will come out on top are former race car drivers: Danny Sullivan (winner of the 1985 Indy 500); Tommy Kendall (the only American to finish Australia’s Bathurst 1000 race); and Liz Halliday (the most successful woman to race in the American Le Mans Series).

The show airs on the Speed Network starting September 20 and will run over five episodes, where the winner will be announced on the last show. As part of their grand prize, the winner will join a four-person team, joining the three winners of Nissan’s European GT Academy, and make their debut at the 24 Hours of Dubai in January 2012.