Gran Tursimo Academy winners announced and it proves itself as the real deal.

[EJ25RUN]

Even though it is about Gran Turismo, this really does belong in the competition forum.

Back in July 2 of 2008, Gran Tursimo began a tournament and set out to find two of the best GT players in Europe. It then wanted to train them to become professional racing drivers and actually compete in the 2009 Dubai 24 hour sportscar event with a Nismo 350Z race car. Many skeptics said this is a bad idea (I was one of them). I thought the idea of just throwing some guy in a racecar cause he's good at a video game was the dumbest idea ever but as i have watched the progress of the tournament, I could really see this wasn't just some publicity stunt put on by Polyphony Digital. Many very respected auto manufactures as well as race car drivers have included themselves in the training and even the Silverstone GP circuit was used. The two winners: Lucas Ordoñez of Spain and Lars Schlommer of Germany, had to complete a strenuous amount of mental and physical testing in order to insure they were capable of operating a car at the limit. The training included karting endurance races and driving a 350Z, Caterham 7, R35 Nissan GT-R, and open-wheeled formula car in the wet of Silverstone (A Grand Prix circuit). I say congrats to them for this once in a life time experience and congrats to Gran Turismo for once again reaching outside a TV screen to bring cars and professional motorsport to the average Joe.

I wrote that ^ so don't dare say i plagiarized.

Here's pix.

DAY 1

Finalists


Event location



Silverstone




Day 2

Nismo 350Z Race Car



R35 GT-R



Single Seater


F1 race winner and LeMans champ: Johnny Herbert


Proof this is the real deal: Testing in the wet of a GP track.

[RandomGuy]

how did they do?

[Elbow]

Cool.

As of right now I will be racing in the 24 Hours of Dubai as well. So it should be fun. (Not on that team obviously)

BTW Half that training and track time was probably to get the FIA license required to run

[EJ25RUN]

how did they do?

We will find out in 2009

Cool.

As of right now I will be racing in the 24 Hours of Dubai as well. So it should be fun. (Not on that team obviously)

BTW Half that training and track time was probably to get the FIA license required to run

Lucky man your are. Any details you can leak?

[Elbow]

Eh, A2 class Honda, nothing crazy. When it's final I will let you know full details for sure. But things right now are looking promising!

[EJ25RUN]

Eh, A2 class Honda, nothing crazy. When it's final I will let you know full details for sure. But things right now are looking promising!

Cant say i have been in those shoes before but from surrounding my life with racing i can understand the "looking for a ride" situation. Oh well Good luck form a fellow IA'r.

That reminds me. I was obviously at the Superbike race this past weekend. On my way around the track im sure i saw your red miata. Were you working turn 6 on Friday?

[green91]

Wow thats crazy and awesome.

[Elbow]

Cant say i have been in those shoes before but from surrounding my life with racing i can understand the "looking for a ride" situation. Oh well Good luck form a fellow IA'r.

That reminds me. I was obviously at the Superbike race this past weekend. On my way around the track im sure i saw your red miata. Were you working turn 6 on Friday?

Haha yes I was! What were you driving? Should have stopped and said hey.

[EJ25RUN]

Haha yes I was! What were you driving? Should have stopped and said hey.

i was in the white STI. I should have i guess but there was a group and didn't want to just start picking people to ask. I was more concerned with seeing every practice session from a different spot.

[Elbow]

haha understandable, i'll look for you next time!

[wantboost]

Eh, A2 class Honda, nothing crazy. When it's final I will let you know full details for sure. But things right now are looking promising!

congrats man

[josh green]

I always knew that the GT series was the best. I had heard that they were using GT5 to help train drivers for tracks that they had yet to race on. GT4 times and cars speeds through corners were always VERY close to reality. I guess this is proof, GT5 Prologue w/o driving aids FTW!

[blacknightteg]

thats awesome.

[EJ25RUN]

Here is the GT planet write up.

GT Academy: Final Day
Wet conditions test contestants to the limit as the final day of the GT Academy gets underway at Silverstone… The final eight: Lucas Ordoňez, Spain; Lars Schlömer, Germany; Chris Midmark, Sweden; Fabrice Bernard, France; Arnaud Lacombe, France; Luca Lorenzini, Italy; Giacomo Cunial, Italy & Matthew Gordon, UK. For the final day of racing the scoreboard was cleared meaning the previous leader boards became irrelevant. This opened up the competition and meant that it was all left to play for.

The Dog Fight - Nissan 350z Style
Following an early night the final eight competitors woke for the final day of driving and the culmination of the GT Academy. They travelled to Silverstone in poor conditions-heavy rain and thick fog. These conditions led the GT Academy judges to alter the order of events for the day putting the contestants under unforeseen additional pressure. Rather than racing the single seaters the final eight were placed in the Nissan 350Zs straight away for the Dog Fight Race. Following ten laps from all the drivers the weather improved meaning drivers were ready to take on the single seaters for the final time. With all lap times recorded the GT Academy judges retired to make their first important decision of the day - which two competitors to eliminate at this stage.

Two competitor’s hopes dashed but six remain hopefully of victory
After a tense wait for the competitors the judges kept the eliminations brief. First to be asked to leave the GT Academy was Giacamo Cunial from Italy and second Matthew Gordon from the UK. Both had recorded the slowest lap times in the single seaters by a long way. Both drivers were interviewed following their departure and although both were clearly disappointed they were calm and not surprised. They were aware their driving had been slower than the other competitors.

The fast and the furious…only the quickest will make the final cut
After lunch the remaining six participants prepared for the second stint of the day in the Nissan 350Zs. The judges set up three races with two cars. Following each of the races the slowest driver dropped out leaving three to race for 350Z glory - Lucas Ordonez from Spain, Luca Lorenzini from Italy and Chris Midmark from Sweden. These three drivers then raced again for 10 laps with the clear winner being Lucas from Spain.

Contestants face the penultimate challenge behind the wheel of the GTR
All six finalists then prepared to drive the Nissan GTR accompanied by judge and experienced racing driver Rob Barff. One by one they raced three laps with Rob sat in the passenger seat. Rob used this time to assess each driver’s car control, style and approach to driving to give the judges an insight they hadn’t had previously. The GTR racing brought the day of driving to a close for the competitors with one final challenge left to face - an interview with the whole panel of GT Academy judges.

Time for the judges to make the final decision
After intense questioning the judges reconvened to make the final all important decision-who would be the two overall winners of the GT Academy and win the ultimate prize- two seats in the Nissan-backed team at the Dubai 24hour race in January 2009. After a lengthy debate, all competitors were called for the final results. The first to be congratulated but asked to leave the GT Academy was Luca from Italy. Although a strong contestant throughout he had been the least consistent of the final six and not as accurate when driving. He also drove the slowest lap times in the GTR. The second runner up to leave the Academy was Arnaud Lacombe from France. Arnaud had been consistent throughout in the GTRs and as he had no previous driving experience at all was considered by the judges to have extremely high potential. The race that let him down was the 350Z Dog Fight Race. Arnaud struggled with the fact the cars were all right-hand drives and due to a misplaced perception of the position of the car he did not realise he was missing corners on each lap therefore meaning he lost a lot of time. In fourth place was Fabrice Bernard from France who drove well. He was seen to be extremely trainable and motivated. However, despite previous Autocross experience he was not top in terms of driving on the final day.

Third place announced in emotional final show-down
In third place was Chris Midmark from Sweden and this one was a tough decision for the judges. Chris had started the strongest at the beginning of the week and remained consistent throughout. However on the last and final day of driving he was seen to crack under the pressure of the competition. He did not drive very well in either the 350z or the GTR. It was decided that they could not have a winner who could not cope with pressure and therefore the GT Academy judges awarded Chris third place.

GT Academy winners announced and two gamers’ dreams come true
Then finally the two winners who would take their places at the Dubai 24 hour race were announced. Lucas Ordonez from Spain and Lars Schlommer from Germany were crowned the winners of the GT Academy. There was no debate amongst the judges that with the upcoming training Lucas could be an exceptional driver who is naturally talented. He does have some history racing single seaters and karting but he was the clear winner time wise recording very fast times in all of the cars on the final day. The only aspect of Lucas’ ability that was discussed was his level of commitment; however it was quickly decided that he did indeed have the necessary commitment to make it as a professional driver and part of the Nissan-backed team. The judges were delighted to have him as the first winner of the GT Academy. The second winner Lars has no previous driving experience except for driving a taxi! This makes his story even more special. Lars was the competitor who took all the feedback he was given and put it into practice. The judges and Rob Barth felt that Lars had the most ability to learn and adapt out of all the drivers. He had one slip up when he lost the first stage of the 350Z race and he came off of the track extremely upset as he felt that he had just lost the competition. After a talk with Rob and the psychologist he came back out to race the GTRs 120% focussed and really turned it around for himself. In this activity he was awarded 9/10 for his confidence and beat most other drivers lap times. The judges were also delighted with Lars as their second winner and are convinced that they have found the best two drivers possible.

[josh green]

I wish it gave the ages of all the competitors, those guys look to be in their late 20's.

[EJ25RUN]

I wish it gave the ages of all the competitors, those guys look to be in their late 20's.

I'll look into it later but that sounds about right.

More stuff at the actual website.

http://www.granturismoworld.com/en/g...home/index.htm

Click the Great Britain link so you could read all in English

[NewGen33]

Ahh yes the game that keeps on giving

[josh green]

I'll look into it later but that sounds about right.

More stuff at the actual website.

http://www.granturismoworld.com/en/g...home/index.htm

Click the Great Britain link so you could read all in English

not seeing it, maybe b/c im not registered?

[EJ25RUN]

not seeing it, maybe b/c im not registered?

hmm? Don't know.

Check http://www.gtplanet.net/ , they always have updates about this.

[trc_gsr]

Gran turismo definitely needs to do something like that in the US

[josh green]

Gran turismo definitely needs to do something like that in the US

Probably wont ever happen. The only Motorsport that America cares for is Nascar and Drag racing.

[EJ25RUN]

Probably wont ever happen. The only Motorsport that America cares for is Nascar and Drag racing.

wait wait wait. I have been to plenty of events at Road Atlanta this year and i can say that isn't 100% true. Yes, Nascar is the most popular for reasons that have nothing to do with racing but the NHRA is on the same side of the fence we are. All the big sponsors choose Nascar before they even consider other series so we all get hurt. I have experimented with random people that care nothing for motor sport and i asked them to think about racing. They said a Nascar popped up in their head immediately. The people that care for road racing, rallying, and drag racing, and whatever else exist, they just are much more passionate about it and stay with their favorite sport no matter how hard it gets to view it on tv or find other people that are into it as well.

[Elbow]

Probably wont ever happen. The only Motorsport that America cares for is Nascar and Drag racing.

Yeah that's so not true. I agree NASCAR is huge but...

And road racing has grown BIG TIME since the early 90's

[trc_gsr]

Forza 2 had that thing at Road Atlanta that was on the speed channel, so maybe, just maybe gran turismo might do something similar when gt5 is released