[paskowitz]

What is it: The Nissan Gran Turismo Academy is an international competition that takes a Playstation gamer and develops him/her into a professional race car driver.

How does it work: On May 1st in select regions in Europe (and now Russia) and May 2nd in the US a special GT Academy download will be available in the Playstation Store. This download will contain a number of challenges that will pit gamers against each other for a top spot on the leaderboards. You do NOT need to own Gran Turismo 5 in order to compete in this challenge. All you need is a PS3, DS3/FFB wheel, TV and an internet connection. The top of the leaderboards will then move on to the national finals for their region. The national final will pit drivers directly against each other in online style races. At which point the finalist from that group will move onto the bootcamp at the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom. The final group will compete in elimination style challenges that, in the past, have featured: tests of physical and mental endurance, real life driving competitions in a variety of vehicles, mock press conferences and a race finale to determine the winner. The winner of the competition will then go on to gain his or her international race license. Finally, the winner will race for Nissan in the 24hrs of Dubai and begin their official career as a professional race car driver.

Who can enter: The eligible regions are: US, Europe (UK&Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Austria), Germany and Russia. All you need to enter is a PS3, DS3/FFB wheel, TV and an internet connection. You do not need to own GT5.

When is it: The PSN download will appear on May 1st in Europe and May 2nd in the US. The Silverstone Bootcamps will take place in August.

What you should know/do before entering: The competition is always fierce. The winners in the past have usually been the ones with the most time to practice. If you want to have a serious shot at winning this competition you will need to devote at least 1-2 hours a day to improving your laptimes and driving technique. It is also highly recommended that you do some physical conditioning. The Bootcamp is not a joke. Expect to run, bike, climb, crawl, dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge. I would also read up on racing terminology and factoids. If you do not have a force feedback wheel, it is highly recommended that you purchase one. The Driving Force GT is about $80-120 and has been used by many finalists. You may also want to consider the Logitech G27 or the Thrustmaster T500RS.


Official post from the US Playstation Blog:

It’s time to gear up for GT Academy 2012! The competition starts on May 2nd and will be open to all entrants through June 26th. Developed for racing fans of all levels, GT Academy 2012 will offer a newly designed eight-step training and qualification program accessible as a demo based on the hit Gran Turismo 5. The demo will be made available for free on PlayStation Store via PSN and will maximize the potential of all users, from beginners to advanced drivers. All participants will compete in a series of virtual driving trials using Nissan cars, and the best of the best will compete in the National Finals in July. The action will then jump from the virtual cars of the PS3 game to actual Nissan sports cars when the winners of the National competition are invited to take part in the intense international Race Camp competition in August, where one ultimate GT Academy winner will train with elite racecar drivers and race as part of a professional team. Entering its second season, GT Academy USA is a national competition designed to recognize elite Gran Turismo drivers and give them the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their virtual-to-reality racing dream of becoming a professional racecar driver. The grand prize for the GT Academy winner is a spot on a racing team to compete in a real race, including all the training and licensing he or she will need in order to prepare. From there, it’s up to the winner’s passion, determination, and skill. Last year, Bryan Heitkotter from California was crowned the first US winner of GT Academy at Silverstone, beating out 53,000 racing hopefuls in becoming a professional racecar driver and now racing a Nissan 370Z Nismo RC in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series in the top GS (Grand Sport) class. GT Academy 2012GT Academy 2012 “Being able to use our GT Academy graduates in our ever-growing range of top-level motorsport activities is another example of Nissan’s innovative approach to everything we do,” explains Darren Cox, General Manager Nissan in Europe. “If we didn’t believe in the drivers they wouldn’t be in those seats, but GT Academy has exceeded our original expectations and each year has provided us with some outstanding driving talent. As our drivers continue to impress on a world stage, GT Academy continues to expand. I would urge anyone that feels they have the talent to get involved and give it a go. GT Academy is a real, credible and exciting route into motorsport that will not cost you anything thanks to our partnership with PlayStation.” Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital, adds: “It makes me very proud to see the graduates of the GT Academy racing around the world with Nissan. This year we are aiming to make GT Academy bigger and better than ever before and so I am creating a new series of driving challenges open to anyone with a PS3 (Note: terms and conditions will apply). You don’t have to be an expert to have a go.” So practice up on either Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo 5 XL Edition and be sure to mark your calendars and get ready for GT Academy 2012 starting on May 2nd. More details to come on the official site and Facebook.

International Competition Information from the European Playstation Blog:

I hope you all had a great Easter. I am absolutely delighted to share some news that will be as mouth-watering as the chocolate treats you hopefully received last week. The great news I can reveal today is that in just a few short weeks (May 1, so three to be precise), we will see the return of GT Academy. GT Academy, as some of you may recall, is a remarkable PlayStation and Nissan competition that intends to take gamers from sofa, bedroom or other suitably domestic environment, to the high-octane world of international motorsport. Now entering its fourth year, the competition has so far unearthed three real-life racing drivers from Europe and a fourth US driver from amongst the massed ranks of global Gran Turismo gamers. The first ever GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez managed an incredible podium finish last year at the world famous Le Mans 24H and the subsequent winners Jordan Tresson and Jann Mardenborough have both gone on to establish themselves as genuine racing talent whose blossoming racing careers will continue in 2012. GT Academy Drivers Take Class Podium at Dubai 24H - 1 This year as in previous years, GT Academy 2012 will consist of a number of stages kicking off with a PlayStation 3 based online event, National Finals, real life driving challenges at Racecamp, Silverstone and then on onwards and upwards towards a potential chance to race for Nissan at the Dubai 24H race in January 2013. This year’s Academy is even more special as it will be kicked off with a newly created online qualification event developed by Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony. This brand new Gran Turismo 5 based content will be completely free to download from PlayStation Network as of May 1 and you don’t even need to own Gran Turismo 5 to play it. The new content features a set of exclusive challenges that should be a lot of fun whether you’ve played Gran Turismo before or whether you are coming to the game as a complete newbie. So what countries are involved in GT Academy 2012 and how are they arranged? Well here’s the rundown: Group 1 UK & Ireland France Spain Portugal Benelux Poland Switzerland Austria Group 2 Germany Group 3 Russia More news will be coming very soon on what you can expect for GT Academy 2012 and it will be here on PlayStation.Blog, gran-turismo.com and facebook.com/GTAcademy, so keep checking back. In the meantime feast your eyes on the stunning opening movie from the brand new GT5 content incoming on 1 May that will kick things off.

More info to be added.

[amar212]

Will it have official matchmaking and leaderboards?

What about oil change in pits?

And Cape Ring layouts in reverse?

Also, we need clarification of being only standalone demo or one that will also allow to be incorporated in GT5. And all old tracks in GT4HD glory, please.

I am venting in regards of my community because Croatia is still not alligeble.

May the most tallented one wins.

[paskowitz]

Will it have official matchmaking and leaderboards? What about oil change in pits? And Cape Ring layouts in reverse? Also, we need clarification of being only standalone demo or one that will also allow to be incorporated in GT5. And all old tracks in GT4HD glory, please. I am venting in regards of my community because Croatia is still not alligeble. May the most tallented one wins.

There some uproar already at GTPlanet on certain countries not being included. Russia but no Italy? I am going to up date this post regularly with any information. Be it official or unofficial. I would watch the UK GT site. It is usually the most up to date or Euro region GT Academy news. Also watch the Euro PS Blog.

What they really should have done is bunch all the Eastern European countries together into one region and have them compete like the US States do.

[amar212]

Haha, yeah, but it will never happen, I was only kidding TBH :)

GT Academy is mainly Nissan's venture, so regional/national Nissan have to make an effort in both funds and organizing.

Due to phenomenal current state of Italy economy I can't say I am surprised that Nissan Italia didn't bite the bullet this year. While I can perfectly understand why Nissan Russia did.

SCE subsidiaries are support and promotional partners for GTAcc venues, without local Nissan it is no go. So frustration should be going different way over at GTP, but nevermind.

[paskowitz]

Haha, yeah, but it will never happen, I was only kidding TBH :) GT Academy is mainly Nissan's venture, so regional/national Nissan have to make an effort in both funds and organizing. Due to phenomenal current state of Italy economy I can't say I am surprised that Nissan Italia didn't bite the bullet this year. While I can perfectly understand why Nissan Russia did. SCE subsidiaries are support and promotional partners for GTAcc venues, without local Nissan it is no go. So frustration should be going different way over at GTP, but nevermind.

Its GTP... anyways. Well, since Nissan and Renault co produce cars with Dacia, which are common in Eastern Europe, they could have done the Dacia GT Academy. James May would have been thrilled.

[wabo]

I'm in. Don't count with getting to the finals in any possible way, but I'll be happy of my best times are a +5sec.

[amar212]

Dacia is no way common in Eastern Europe, with exception of Romania and probably Bulgaria.

Skoda is very common, but Dacias are still seen as Romanian car (unfortunatelly, pun intended) and people are not so eager to buy them. Only model that gets universal praise lately is Dacia Duster which made a true accomplishment in minds of pepple replacing undestructible Lada Niva.

However, it will take a years for Dacia to achieve what VW did woth Skoda in minds of Eastern Europeans. We all still prefer Gperman cars to anything other, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, VW and Opel are main marquees in Croatia and possibly whole ex Yugoslavia.

We do not care for cars if they are not German. And if we do, that is because VW was too expensive for a budget :)

[paskowitz]

Dacia is no way common in Eastern Europe, with exception of Romania and probably Bulgaria. Skoda is very common, but Dacias are still seen as Romanian car (unfortunatelly, pun intended) and people are not so eager to buy them. Only model that gets universal praise lately is Dacia Duster which made a true accomplishment in minds of pepple replacing undestructible Lada Niva. However, it will take a years for Dacia to achieve what VW did woth Skoda in minds of Eastern Europeans. We all still prefer Gperman cars to anything other, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, VW and Opel are main marquees in Croatia and possibly whole ex Yugoslavia. We do not care for cars if they are not German. And if we do, that is because VW was too expensive for a budget :)

That interesting. The sentiments of another region. Its not like that in the US.

[paskowitz]

Just got word Italy is included.

[Gouda Jouji]

Here are some screens:








Looks like the tracks are High Speed Ring, London, Special Stage Route 5 and Tokyo R246.

[paskowitz]

Thanks. Where did you find those? GTPlanet?

[amar212]

Official GT web.

http://us.gran-turismo.com/us/news/d6294.html

[dubc35]

Cool, looking forward to it! If someone from GAF wins, free tickets for all Gaffers to 24h of Spa! (paid for by winner of course, lol)

e* that doesn't really make sense, if the winner does end up racing at the 24h of spa then they buy tickets for all gaffers

[Niks]

They should make it a worldwide competition next time... lots of GT players in South America and Asia.

Still, what PD and Nissan are doing is awesome.

[Polyphony]

So awesome, it's a shame Canada can't compete once again. Still going to enjoy the competition though!

[cutmeamango]

They should make it a worldwide competition next time... lots of GT players in South America and Asia. Still, what PD and Nissan are doing is awesome.

I agree with every word.

I'm in South America and just bought a G27 mainly for GT5, would love to participate. :(
But still, GT Academy is one awesome event.

[l2ounD]

Saweeet!

I hope they do it in stages again with prizes! I still want my GT5 poster they promised! :p

This looks awesome though, like they're going all out making it its own mini game comp!

Hope to see you guys up there!

[paskowitz]

Saweeet! I hope they do it in stages again with prizes! I still want my GT5 poster they promised! :p This looks awesome though, like they're going all out making it its own mini game comp! Hope to see you guys up there!

You better not be in the east coast USA... otherwise I will have even more competition to deal with.

[JWong]

Holy shit. I didn't know they go through such tough training.

Is there a webpage that shows their winnings?

[2scoops]

So awesome, it's a shame Canada can't compete once again. Still going to enjoy the competition though!

A shame indeed. *sniff* Would be sweet if someone from GAF went all the way though.

[paskowitz]

^^^^^ I was 95th on the east coast (US) 3 weeks before the contest ended. I had finals, school and life to deal with and made the smart choice and stopped. I think I ended up being something like 180. You have to be in the top 8 to proceed. I am going to give it a full effort this year. If I make it (its going to be tough) then I will proudly wear a GAF sticker or something on my helmet.

Holy shit. I didn't know they go through such tough training. Is there a webpage that shows their winnings?

Dude, there was an entire TV show on Speed. You can view all of them on the Sony Unlimited Video service or the PS store for free.

[weekend_warrior]

Awesome.

[SolidSnakex]

http://www.gran-turismo.com/jp/news/d16758.html

[Polyphony]

Menu porn, is there such a thing? Anyway, looking forward to this. Sad that I there is no Canadian flag in that fake top 16 list :P.

[CrunchyFrog]

The winner gets put in an actual international race? Because we ALL know that video game driving skills translates to real life driving skills, right? Cool as hell, but serious pie in the sky stuff here. I'll be back to hear how this goes in 6 months time.

[herod]

Menu porn, is there such a thing?

certainly not from PD.

[SolidSnakex]

The winner gets put in an actual international race? Because we ALL know that video game driving skills translates to real life driving skills, right? Cool as hell, but serious pie in the sky stuff here. I'll be back to hear how this goes in 6 months time.

That's not how it works. The top performers from this demo will be put into a driving academy. The winner of that will be given a racing contract.

The first winner of the European GT Academy competed in Le Mans last year. He also won the ILMC Rookie of the Year from Speed.com

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...lucas-ordonez/

[Goldrusher]

This will be on the Store today.

[dubc35]

This will be on the Store today.

Yep, looking forward to it. I doubt I will have time tonight but tomorrow I will start.

[amar212]

Launch Day Official Video > GT Academy 2012 Get Your Race Face On

Available today on PSStore from 17:00 GMT for Europe and 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time for US.

http://www.gtplanet.net/gt-academy-2...-15-countries/

Three more hours.

Can't wait to see the menu design, options, music and potential changes in physics.

[TheSeks]

Have they stated if the US will get the GT5 rewards? GT Planet was all "we dunno, LOLZ" about it.

[jett]

It's out in the UK store, 3GB, dayum.

[PjotrStroganov]

NL store too.

[Goldrusher]

It's taking forever to install.

[magawolaz]

Downloading, 55%.

[Goldrusher]

Sweet, you can see your friends times.

Beating those is a game itself.

[Goldrusher]

Feels like a bunch of license tests.

No trophies. You can however win the cars for use in GT5.

[paskowitz]

Its up on the US Store.

[TheSeks]

No trophies. You can however win the cars for use in GT5.

Does this work in America. GTPlanet couldn't say... :/ I just want the cars. I can't care about competing.

[Goldrusher]

The tracks:


Nissan Leaf G (GT Academy) '11
Monza
Cape Ring
random Eifel circuit
Eiger
High Speed Ring

Nissan SILVIA spec-R AERO (GT Academy) '02
Special Stage Route X
Tokyo R246
Rome
random Eifel kart circuit
Nürburgring 24h


Insane. :)

[2scoops]

So i did a quick search and could not find anything on this. Mind you i am at work and my internet access is limited. But for us Canadians, can we still download this and play for fun, or do we have no access to the Academy at all?

Edit: As mentioned by TheSeks, i just want the cars

[jett]

The tracks: Nissan Leaf G (GT Academy) '11 Monza Cape Ring random Eifel circuit Eiger High Speed Ring Nissan SILVIA spec-R AERO (GT Academy) '02 Special Stage Route X Tokyo R246 Rome random Eifel kart circuit Nürburgring 24h Insane. :)

whoa lotta tracks. This will be cool for me as I don't own GT5. :P

edit: ah it's not time trials like the last one...

[PjotrStroganov]

I don't get it. We get selected on basic licence tests before getting to the real time trials? Or does it all add up?
Do later challenges prohibit use of non sim settings, steering line and whatnot?

It looks a bit unfair for people who don't want to use assists.

[rCIZZLE]

I know I have no chance at this but I'll probably give it a try anyways.

The winner gets put in an actual international race? Because we ALL know that video game driving skills translates to real life driving skills, right? Cool as hell, but serious pie in the sky stuff here. I'll be back to hear how this goes in 6 months time.

If you have a ps3 you can download the GT Academy from last year. The contestants are surprisingly good for some of them having little to no real racing experience.

[murderofMonkey]

how can i get my presents in gt 5 ? :/

[TheSeks]

how can i get my presents in gt 5 ? :/

That's what I want to know. :|

[paskowitz]

I don't get it. We get selected on basic licence tests before getting to the real time trials? Or does it all add up? Do later challenges prohibit use of non sim settings, steering line and whatnot? It looks a bit unfair for people who don't want to use assists.

Yeah... I really do not get the point of this unless it changes. These challenges are easier than the actual license tests.

[amar212]

Graphics on GTAcc are beautiful.. it looks crazy sharp and with no slightest tearing. I was driving through Rome with amazement..

Looks crispy clear, like in Prologue. Beautiful.

[weekend_warrior]

This is taking unbelievably long to install. 5 minutes to go from 79% to 82%.

[Syn23]

I don't get it. We get selected on basic licence tests before getting to the real time trials? Or does it all add up? Do later challenges prohibit use of non sim settings, steering line and whatnot? It looks a bit unfair for people who don't want to use assists.

Yeah... I really do not get the point of this unless it changes. These challenges are easier than the actual license tests.

If the italian translation of the first message you get was correct (they are often inaccurate, but in this case it was pretty simple), the GT Academy Finals partecipants will be selected by taking in consideration only the times of the last challenge, 8-5. Since to access that you have to pass (or get a gold, I'm not sure) on all the others, you have to complete all of the ones before, but there's no point in improving your times if you've already got the gold, except for the fun of competing with your friends.