OFFERS VIRTUAL GAMERS CHANCE TO BECOME REAL PRO RACERS “NISSAN GT ACADEMY” THAILAND SEASON 3
2 LIVE EVENTS TO NAME THE TOP 20 WILL BE HELD IN BANGKOK STARTING FROM JULY 1ST
Bangkok, 14 June 2016 – Leading with a passion for “Innovation that Excites”, Nissan today announces the launch of “Nissan GT Academy” Season 3 in Thailand, the exciting search for six Thai gamers wanting to jump from the virtual racing world to the cockpit of a real racing car on the race track at Silverstone Circuit, in the United Kingdom, and the possibility of becoming a professional race car driver.
As part of its long-standing partnership with Nissan, Polyphony Digital are supporting this competition with a unique, early version of the new edition of Gran Turismo Sport featuring Nissan cars exclusively for the live recruitment phase of GT Academy 2016, meaning that those participating in GT Academy 2016 will be amongst the first in Thailand to experience this early version of Gran Turismo Sport before its release date.
This year six territories, namely, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, North Africa (Algeria, Egypt & Morocco), the Philippines and Thailand are hosting this global initiative, which has seen 6 million entrants since it first launched in Europe in 2008. “The GT Academy is inspired by the belief that excellent virtual racing-gamers can become professional race drivers if they are properly trained in high-level motorsports skills. That dream was realized for the winners of the Nissan GT Academy in previous years, such as current NISMO athletes Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough,” said Mr. Kazutaka Nambu, President of Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
“The Nissan GT Academy in Thailand Season 3 is in line with our Brand DNA of ‘Innovation that Excites’. We believe in the capabilities of Thai racing enthusiasts, and we support them to unlock their potential, follow their dreams, and get to taste the real world-class motorsports,” added Mr. Nambu Building on the success of Seasons 1 and 2, which generated overwhelming interest from more than 60,000 young-generation gamers in Thailand nationwide, this year gamers will compete in the “Nissan GT Academy Live Events in Bangkok” which are schedule to be on July 1st -3rd at the Future Park Rangsit shopping mall and July 8th- 10th at EDEN zone, Central World and the Top 20 from the live events will be invited to join the Thailand National Final Competition on August 17th -18th at Pathumthani Speed Way, Phathumthani. Ultimately, only the six best will earn their tickets to the “Nissan GT Academy Race Camp” in the United Kingdom in October, 2016.
In February Nissan announced its 2016, global motorsport programme confirming that previous winners of the Nissan GT Academy would continue to fly the flag for Nissan; Jann Mardenborough recently made the dream move to Japan where he competes in GT300 and Japanese Formula 3; Ricardo Sanchez takes part in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup; Lucas Ordonez, Matt Simmons and Romain Sarazin all contest the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup; Bryan Heitkotter races in the Pirelli World Challenge and Nick Hamman competes in Canada’s Nissan Micra Cup.
“I entered the Nissan GT Academy competition to achieve my dream of becoming a professional racing driver”, said Matt Simmons, winner of the 2015 Nissan International GT Academy. “GT Academy is an opportunity to make your racing dreams come true. To make the most of it, you have to believe in yourself and your abilities but most of all, enjoy the experience”.
For more information on Nissan GT Academy Thailand Season 3, please visit: http://gtacademy.nissan.co.th
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About GT Academy
GT Academy is a collaboration between Nissan and PlayStation that uses the virtual world of Gran Turismo to unearth real-world racing talent. Now in its eighth year, GT Academy is one competition open to permanent residents of the following territories; Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, North Africa (Algeria, Egypt & Morocco), Philippines and Thailand.
Qualification for GT Academy is through live events hosted on a number of dates at locations across the six participating territories, detailed above. At a live event, entrants set their best time on PlayStation 4 running Gran Turismo Sport. The fastest 20 entrants progress to a territory final where they are scored in gaming, fitness, communication and driving activities. The top six scorers from each final join competitors from other territories at the legendary Race Camp, held at Silverstone Circuit, UK. During Race Camp judges look for those who have the attributes required to race in International level. Once an overall winner has been selected, they go on to complete a comprehensive driver development programme that includes racing in the UK to qualify for an International race license so that they can compete in a prestigious 24H Endurance Race for Nissan.
Previous winners of GT Academy have gone on to win in the real world at the highest level; Jann Mardenborough is a race winner in GP3, Lucas Ordonez became the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am champion in 2013, Wolfgang Reip is the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series Pro Champion also winning the Bathurst 12H with Florian Strauss in 2015.
News and views on GT Academy 2016 and the progress of all the GT Academy drivers can be followed on the following platforms:
www.youtube.com/gtacademyeurope,
www.flickr.com/photos/gtacademyeurope,
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution of PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system, PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) portable entertainment system, in 109 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE has revolutionised home entertainment since they launched PlayStation® in 1994. PS2® further enhanced the PlayStation® legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP® allowed users to enjoy on-the-go games with high-quality full-motion video and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3™ is an advanced computer system, incorporating the powerful Cell Broadband Engine and RSX processors. PS Vita is an ultimate portable entertainment system that offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context. PlayStation®4 redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalization and deeply integrated social capabilities. PlayStation™Network, that includes PlayStation®Store, delivers unparalleled online gaming experiences to PlayStation users. PlayStation™Now, a streaming game service that leverages cloud-based technology, enables users to instantly enjoy a wide range of PS3 games on numerous Internet-connected devices they use every day. SCEE also delivers the PlayStation® experience to open operating systems through PlayStation®Mobile, a cross device platform. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories.