NEW DELHI, February 4, 2014
– Nissan, along
with its partner PlayStation, today launched Nissan PlayStation GT Academy, a
driver discovery and development programme that could be the gateway to
motorsports for motor racing aspirants in India. With the launch of GT Academy,
Nissan, one of India’s youngest global automobile brands, will have the
opportunity to connect even more closely with the Indian audience.
The international award-winning
Nissan PlayStation GT Academy is in its sixth year and has been hugely popular
and successful in Europe, Russia, the USA, the Middle East and South Africa.
Today’s launch signifies India’s inclusion in the newly-created international
league.
GT Academy’s Indian qualifying
rounds will begin with ‘Live Events’ in high-footfall shopping malls in five
select Indian cities and at a later stage will also include an online qualifying
round that will be hosted on the PlayStation Network (PSN). Nissan will host the
inaugural round of the competition on February 6, 2014 at the Delhi Auto Expo,
organized at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida in the National Capital Region.
Matthew De La Haye, Nissan’s Vice
President Communications, Africa, Middle East, India and Europe
said, “We’re
delighted to launch GT Academy in India; bringing the programme here reinforces
our commitment to growing the Nissan brand and developing relationships with
both existing and potential customers. GT Academy really proves that Nissan
stands for innovation and excitement for everyone.”
Nissan PlayStation®3GT Academy – the
competition
GT Academy is an innovative platform
that offers aspiring racers and gaming enthusiasts to register, compete and
potentially win a place in the coveted driver discovery and development
programme.
Entered by racing on the Gran
Turismo®6* video game, exclusive to PlayStation®3, GT Academy is a ‘virtual to
reality’ programme that will test the racing acumen of enthusiasts through a
time-trial competition on PlayStation GT6 racing simulators. The time-trials
should be considered as qualifying rounds and will be hosted at shopping malls
in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Out of the five cities, fourteen
contestants who clock the quickest lap times will be eligible to compete in the
National Final, the first gateway to GT Academy’s coveted International Race
Camp. The 14 contestants who enter the National Final will need to go through a
two-day intensive physical and mental training examination programme which will
filter out only six contestants who will be eligible for the International Race
Camp at Silverstone in the United Kingdom.
Silverstone International Race Camp
and making of the Nismo Athlete
Popular among international
contestants as the best one week of their lives, the Silverstone Race Camp will
include the six shortlisted Indian contestants and pit them against 18 qualified
contestants (six each) from other nations that are also new to the programme.
Under the supervision of experts from the world of motorsports all international
contestants will undergo and endure exhaustive training for mental and physical
strength. Their driving skills will be tested and honed on the Formula One
Silverstone motor racing circuit in Nismo-tuned Nissan 370Zs and GT-Rs. GT
Academy’s Silverstone Race Camp will eliminate all but one overall winner, one
from any one of the competing nations, who will then move on to the Driver
Development Programme and learn all the skills necessary to compete in an
international ‘graduation race’.
Darren Cox, Nissan’s Director of
Global Motorsports said, “For many reasons having India
join the GT Academy programme has been a long held personal objective of mine
and I’m proud that it has now come to fruition. GT Academy is getting huge
international interest. We know that there are gamers outside of the traditional
GT Academy territories that want a shot at winning so in 2014 we have extended
the program to India as well. Nissan is an international company with global
ambitions and it’s exciting that GT Academy reflects that.”
Ordinary people across the world,
with an aspiration to pursue a career in motor racing have found the opportunity
of their lifetime in the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy driver discovery and
development programme.
***
*Gran Turismo®6 is being used as the
first qualifier in Nissan PlayStation®3GT Academy because the game focuses on a
high-end simulated driving experience. The technology used in the game is the
closest a user will get to driving a real Nissan car.
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