Nissan back with the second season of GT Academy

Nissan has set the ball rolling for its hunt for the best racing drivers, by launching the second season of the GT Academy in India. The event was kicked off by Mr Guillaume Sicard, the president of Nissan India operations, yesterday, at an event in Delhi.

The GT Academy aims to find the best drivers through the medium of video games. In 2008, Nissan came up with the idea of taking gaming enthusiasts who are good at driving in the virtual world and training them to be professional race car drivers. Of all the contestants who participate, Nissan will choose 20 gamers based on their lap times for the next round in Chennai. After a series of rounds in Chennai, Nissan will select six finalists who will compete on an international level with the other winners from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan at the Silverstone circuit in the UK.

The first season of GT Academy saw over 5,000 gamers from all over India compete against each other to get a chance of becoming a Nismo athlete. Yesterday’s event saw the first season’s top five finalists recount their experience at the Silverstone circuit. This year, Nissan has launched ‘GT Academy Asia’, which will see gamers from the Asian region compete against each other to get a chance to participate in the Dubai 24 Hours in January, 2016.

Announcing the second season of GT Academy in India, Mr Sicard said, “When we speak about innovation and excitement at Nissan, we not only mean our cars but go beyond that with initiatives like GT Academy. Over the years, the competition has given aspirants and dreamers an opportunity to race real racing cars on tracks all over the world. We are glad that we were able to fulfil one Indian’s dream last year and proudly launch the GT Academy 2015 today in India.”

Nissan GT Academy qualifiers schedule:

Delhi - June 5 to June 7 - DLF Place, Saket

Mumbai – June 12 to June 14 - Infinity 2, Malad (West)

Bangalore – June 19 to June 21 - Phoenix Market City, Whitefield

Chennai - June 26 to June 28 - Express Avenue, Royapettah