GT Academy comes to India

International virtual and real racing competition comes to India

Nissan and Sony PlayStation have brought their Nissan PlayStation GT Academy to India this year and will be held from 7 February onwards in major cities in India. The international competition is a racing contest that pits the best video game drivers against each other in a contest that spans both the virtual and the real world. The winner of the competition will get a chance to become a professional race car driver.

This is the sixth year of the competition which has seen much success in Europe, Russia, the USA, the Middle East and South Africa. India will now join the ranks of the top video game and racing countries in the newly-created international league.

Competitors will first face off on the PlayStation 3 by competing in ‘time-trial’ qualifications in the video game Gran Turismo. The time-trials will be the qualification rounds and will be held at ‘Live Events’ in malls in 5 cities across India. An online qualifying round will also be held at a later stage via the PlayStation Network (PSN). Of the five cities, the 14 contestants to clock the quickest lap times will be eligible to compete in the National Final. These 14 contestants will go through an intense 2-day physical and mental training programme to filter out the 6 best contestants. These 6 contestants will be eligible for the International Race Camp at Silverstone in the United Kingdom.

The 6 contestants will undergo a week-long training programme in the United Kingdom. They will join 18 other contestants from competing countries and will receive the best guidance from the world of motorsports in enduring training to gauge and increase their mental and physical strength. They will race on the Formula One Silverstone motor racing circuit in Nismo-tuned Nissan 370Zs and GT-Rs. At the end of the week, a single winner will be selected to move on to the Driver Development Programme to learn the skills required to compete in an international ‘graduation race’.

Eligibility for Indian competitors:

• Indian citizens at least 18 years old
• They must possess a valid driver’s license to be eligible to win.
• The participant cannot have an existing competition driving contract, or have previously held a Motor Racing License or equivalent, or competed in a national level karting, or other motor sport, national championship.
• Those qualifying to the National Finals will be required to undergo a mandatory health screening for physical fitness and vision. They must be in good health in accordance with Motor Sports Association medical requirements.

Participants who qualify to the Race Camp will need to have a valid passport and be able to travel within the EU. They will also need to be able to reside in the UK for a week.

Schedule of Live Events in India:

Feb 7-11: Nissan Display Area, Hall 12, India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, NCR

Feb 20-23: Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, NCR

March 20-23: R-City Mall, Ghatkopar, Mumbai

April 17-20: Inorbit Mall, Hyderabad

May 15-18: Mantri Mall, Bengaluru

June 5-8: Express Avenue Mall, Royapettah, Chennai

Registration

Live Events will have walk-in registrations for interested participants. Online pre-registration can be done by logging onto www.nissan.in or www.facebook.com/nissanindia. SMS GamerToPro <CITY NAME> to 9223306800 to pre-register via cell phone.