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Nissan today revealed details of GT Academy for India, a programme that turns Gran Turismo players on PS3 into international pro racing drivers.
GT Academy is in its sixth year, but the Indian edition will be the first one to also include live events, where participants can enter the competition.
These live events will be held across five cities – New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai – in high-footfall shopping malls. The inaugural round of live events will take place from 6th February at Auto Expo 2014.
For many reasons, having India join the GT Academy programme has been a long held personal objective of mine and I’m proud that it has now come to fruition. GT Academy is getting huge international interest. We know that there are gamers outside of the traditional GT Academy territories that want a shot at winning, so in 2014, we have extended the program to India as well,” said Darren Cox, Nissan’s director of global motorsports.
Participants in GT Academy will have to prove their worth by setting their best times in Gran Turismo 6 on PS3. Like previous GT Academy editions, PS3 owners will also be able to enter the competition over the PlayStation Network. The online portion of the qualification process will take place at a later stage.
How it works
From the live events and online qualifying, 14 of the top participants will make it to the National Final, where they will go through a two-day physical and mental training programme. From there, the top six will qualify for the International Race Camp at Silverstone in the UK.
The Silverstone Race Camp will pit the six Indian contestants against 18 qualifiers (six each) from other countries. These 24 contestants will then undergo exhaustive mental and physical training, and their driving skills will be honed on the Silverstone F1 circuit in Nismo-tuned Nissan 370Zs and GT-R cars.
One contestant will eventually be crowned GT Academy champion, and will move on to the Driver Development Programme, where he/she will be trained further to compete in an international ‘graduation race’.
Registrations
Participants can register for the live events by walking into any of the below venues or visitingwww.nissan.in or www.facebook.com/nissanindia or SMS GamerToPro to 9223306800 to pre-register.
- 7th to 11th February: Nissan Display Area, Hall 12, India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, NCR
- 20th to 23rd February: Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, NCR
- 20th to 23rd March: R-City Mall, Ghatkopar, Mumbai
- 17th to 20th April: Inorbit Mall, Hyderabad
- 15th to 18th May: Mantri Mall, Bengaluru
- 5th to 8th June: Express Avenue Mall, Royapettah, Chennai
Online qualification is open to anyone in India with access to a PS3, Gran Turismo 6, and a PSN account. Dates for online qualification will be announced at a later date.
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