GT Academy was a television programme run by Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment, which provided an alternative route into real-life motorsport.
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12 Facts About GT Academy
2.
GT Academy provided Gran Turismo gamers the chance to go from virtual to reality, from their PlayStation to a real-life professional racing career with Nissan.
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3.
Nissan PlayStation GT Academy was an international virtual-to-reality contest that allowed the video gamers of the Gran Turismo game the opportunity to become a real-world car racing driver.
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4.
Since 2008, Race Camp had always been based at Silverstone Circuit, UK, where the title of GT Academy Winner was awarded to whoever demonstrated the greatest potential to make the switch from Gran Turismo gamer to real racer.
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5.
GT Academy Winners were invited to take part in Nissan's Driver Development Programme.
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6.
Any contestant who made it to Race Camp in any of the previous GT Academy competitions was generally restricted to the Online Qualification stage of the GT Academy.
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7.
Debut GT Academy took place in 2008, attracting 25,000 PlayStation 3 gamers from across 12 participating countries in Europe who entered through the Gran Turismo 5 game.
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8.
GT Academy continued in 2010, expanding to 17 countries including New Zealand and Australia, where the demo required for qualification was downloaded more than 1.
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9.
In 2013, GT Academy included competitions in Europe, the U S, Germany, Russia, the Middle East and South Africa, each entering the competition for the first time on Gran Turismo 6.
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10.
GT Academy has turned video gamers to racing drivers over a period of months, and NISMO Athletes have competed at international car racing competitions since 2009.
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11.
GT Academy Winners have competed in the Dubai 24 Hours, FIA GT Series, FIA World Endurance Championship, British GT Championship, FIA Formula 3 European Championships, British Formula Three Championship, TRS Single-Seater Series, IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, SCCA Solo National Championship and the United SportsCar Championship.
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12.
Mardenborough's achievements since winning GT Academy saw him named as one of the 50 most marketable athletes in the world by Sports Pro Media.
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