Nissan GT Academy Finals Draw Closer
Can video games really become a reality? Absolutely and if you’re one of our regular readers you probably know how that can happen: the Nissan GT Academy.
“Nissan is delighted to again be an integral part of GT Academy. Combining gaming, branded entertainment and social media to put the steering wheel of Nissan vehicles into the hands of nearly 400,000 participants, we consider GT Academy to be a huge platform for our marketing efforts,” said Vinay Shahani, director of marketing communications for Nissan Americas.
Nearing the final tier in its competition, 33 competitors will vie for a spot as a real race car driver. The competition centers around the racing game Gran Turismo 5 and runs in partnership with Nissan, Sony and Polyphony Digital. With 32 finalists already slated to race, there wil be a 33rd wildcard spot open to anyone who can show up and qualify to skip the previous elimination rounds.
After the upcoming round, 16 will be left based on points accumulated by placing in virtual races. At that point, the remaining drivers will be transplanted into real cars and sent to a track for a final real life race.
It all whittles down to one winner who will be given the chance to train with and eventually be a part of a professional racing team.
“Last year’s winner, Bryan Heitkotter, has notched two front-row qualifying spots and two top-ten finishes in three races this year in a Nissan 370Z, and we look forward to even more success at the track for Bryan and all future GT Academy winners,” Shahani said.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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