As reported by Nissan
Silverstone – The GT Academy 2010 has moved a step closer to unearthing a real racing talent. The 18 Gran Turismo® racers who set out on their quest to win a season long Nissan 370Z drive in the European GT4 Cup have been reduced to only eight after two days of intensive driving challenges.
GT Academy made a great start on Friday, despite a dramatic last-minute driver change. Belgium’s national champion, Stijn Wackenier, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness. Second placed in Belgium’s national final was Benjamin Peron. He arrived at Silverstone late on Thursday night and joined his PlayStation colleagues for an 0830 briefing on Friday morning. The 18 drivers moved to Silverstone for medical and fitness tests, media interviews and to take to the wheels of a fleet of new Nissan 370Zs. An eight-lap assessment on the Stowe circuit was followed by a “superpole” competition.
Next up was a transfer to a kart track for a two-hour endurance race in some powerful 125cc karts. The competitors were split into pairs and briefed on endurance racing strategy by Academy judges, and successful endurance racers, Rob Barff, Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz. Each pairing was responsible for their own driver and refuelling strategy. Some incredibly fast laps and fierce competition on a cold circuit eventually saw the Franco- Portuguese duo of Jordan Tresson and Felipe Barreto pip Spaniards Roberto Ortero and Marco Calvo for the win.
A late night press conference with members of the international media underlined that there is more than one side to the life of a racing driver. The media took part in judging the drivers on their presentation skills.
Difficult conditions greeted the 18 at Silverstone today (Saturday). But despite some heavy rain during the day, all driving activities went ahead as planned. A sprint competition in the 370Zs was followed by 3 separate activities in the afternoon – a head-to-head, parallel course time-trial in the awesome Nissan GT-R, drifting and car control in the 370Z, and lapping Stowe circuit in the 370Zs with an instructor assessing their progress.
At the end of the day, the competitors undertook a teamwork challenge. Split into two teams, they were timed to undertake a full ‘pit-stop’ on the new 370Z GT4 race car, delivered to the circuit by their potential new boss, Bob Neville of RJN Motorsport.
Back at the GT Academy’s hotel base, the judges, armed with the competitors’ times and scores supplied by Silverstone’s experienced team of instructors, deliberated on the fate of the 18 hopeful gamers. After less than an hour, the decision was taken as follows:
Silverstone – The GT Academy 2010 has moved a step closer to unearthing a real racing talent. The 18 Gran Turismo® racers who set out on their quest to win a season long Nissan 370Z drive in the European GT4 Cup have been reduced to only eight after two days of intensive driving challenges.
GT Academy made a great start on Friday, despite a dramatic last-minute driver change. Belgium’s national champion, Stijn Wackenier, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness. Second placed in Belgium’s national final was Benjamin Peron. He arrived at Silverstone late on Thursday night and joined his PlayStation colleagues for an 0830 briefing on Friday morning. The 18 drivers moved to Silverstone for medical and fitness tests, media interviews and to take to the wheels of a fleet of new Nissan 370Zs. An eight-lap assessment on the Stowe circuit was followed by a “superpole” competition.
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| photo: Sony |
Next up was a transfer to a kart track for a two-hour endurance race in some powerful 125cc karts. The competitors were split into pairs and briefed on endurance racing strategy by Academy judges, and successful endurance racers, Rob Barff, Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz. Each pairing was responsible for their own driver and refuelling strategy. Some incredibly fast laps and fierce competition on a cold circuit eventually saw the Franco- Portuguese duo of Jordan Tresson and Felipe Barreto pip Spaniards Roberto Ortero and Marco Calvo for the win.
A late night press conference with members of the international media underlined that there is more than one side to the life of a racing driver. The media took part in judging the drivers on their presentation skills.
Difficult conditions greeted the 18 at Silverstone today (Saturday). But despite some heavy rain during the day, all driving activities went ahead as planned. A sprint competition in the 370Zs was followed by 3 separate activities in the afternoon – a head-to-head, parallel course time-trial in the awesome Nissan GT-R, drifting and car control in the 370Z, and lapping Stowe circuit in the 370Zs with an instructor assessing their progress.
At the end of the day, the competitors undertook a teamwork challenge. Split into two teams, they were timed to undertake a full ‘pit-stop’ on the new 370Z GT4 race car, delivered to the circuit by their potential new boss, Bob Neville of RJN Motorsport.
Back at the GT Academy’s hotel base, the judges, armed with the competitors’ times and scores supplied by Silverstone’s experienced team of instructors, deliberated on the fate of the 18 hopeful gamers. After less than an hour, the decision was taken as follows: