Gaming becomes gateway to real-world motorsport glory

Video gamers have the chance to score a real drive in a Nissan 370Z in the Euro GT4 championship season next year.

Sitting on a couch playing racing games may not be seen as an investment in the future - but Lucas Ordonez knows different.

Last year he won last year's inaugural GT Academy - an online PlayStation motor-racing competition - which set him up to drive real racecars in the European GT4 championship.

GT Academy gives racing driver wannabes the chance to pit their skills on a downloadable Time Trial phase of Sony's Gran Turismo game against others around the world.

It's open to anyone over 18 with a full licence (although those with current motorsport licences are excluded) and winners from each zone will go head to head at Silverstone, with the chance to do the real thing in the GT4 championship.

Ordonez says this is where things got hard.

"It was difficult," he told nzherald.co.nz from his home in Madrid, "the Gran Turismo does help to go fast in a real car. But real life is different, you have to do a lot more training, fitness training - it's not easy.

"It is difficult to compare virtual driving with real driving, but Gran Turismo is a good simulator and it helps to know the corners, how the car works in real life - I drove a lot in the GTR and the 370Z in the game - it's very similar.'

He entered into the GT Academy while still studying for an MBA.

"I was working here in Spain and saw in a magazine the GT Academy competition.

"I thought I'm fast on the PlayStation, so I could be the first GT Academy winner. I started training on the PlayStation, and bought a steering wheel and pedals. I then did lots of hours to achieve my goal."

The investment certainly paid off. After he topped the tables online, Ordonez ended up in a three-way battle with other gamers at Silverstone.

He beat them, and picked up a drive in a 24-hour endurance race at Dubai before heading into the GT4 championship in a Nissan 350Z as part of deal between Nissan and Sony Computer Entertainment.

His advice to those serious about taking on the world's quickest virtual racecar drivers: "Practice. Lots of practice. There will be lots of people who will be happy just to play the demo, but there will be others who want to live the dream like me…"

SCE's Mark Bowles says the hype around the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 game on PlayStation3 - currently tipped for a March release - will attract a large number of players from around the world.

"We imagine that the combination of a preview of the new GT5 game, the ease of entry and, of course, the spectacular ultimate prize will really boost the numbers taking part in GT Academy 2010," he says.

"When we ran the competition in 2008 we had 25,000 gamers from across Europe taking part. This year we have more countries, including the welcome addition of Australia and New Zealand. It is very exciting and we can't wait to see what the final numbers are and who emerges at the end of the competition."

Gran Turimso Academy's Time Trial can be downloaded from the PlayStation store now.

Players can record lap times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in a road version of Nissan's 370Z and a tweaked version of the same car. Combined laptimes will give players a place on their country's leaderboard.

GT Academy details

GT Academy 2010 is divided into five key stages:

Stage One - Entrants download the Gran Turismo time trial via PlayStation Network, accessed through PS3. They record their timed laps in two virtual cars – a standard Nissan 370 Z and a race-tuned version. Times in each participating territory will be logged on a leader board. Participants can post as many entries as they like.

Stage Two – The holders of the twenty fastest online times from each participating territory will qualify for a national final event held to select the fastest one or two Gran Turismo drivers who will proceed to the next phase.

Stage Three – Twenty finalists, chosen from each of the national finals events, will head to the world famous Silverstone circuit for the GT Academy itself - a five-day, comprehensive race driver 'boot camp'. They will have a chance to develop new driving skills in an array of Nissan, and other, hardware, while also being judged on fitness and mental attitude.

Stage Four - For the two competitors that display the talent, fitness, aptitude, drive and determination to succeed in motor sport, the action will hot-up even further. A UK-based intensive driving and racing programme will prepare them to qualify for an international racing license.

Stage Five – There is only one place available for the driver with the most potential to compete on an international stage. The overall GT Academy 2010 champion will race a full season in the European GT4 Cup in a Nissan 370 Z prepared by RJN Motorsport. The opening race is currently scheduled for May, 2010.

- NZ HERALD STAFF