Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) recently introduced the GT Academy to the country held at the SM Sky Dome in SM North EDSA.
The gaming event was joined by the members of the press, bloggers, online community, motorcycle enthusiasts, video gamers and friends from Nissan Philippines. It was also graced by gorgeous celebrity, Sam Pinto.
Despite being unfamiliar with the video game, she confidently slid into the driver seat of the simulator pod and revved through the virtual track. Sam learned to drive when she was 16 years old and figured that with a little practice, she can clock a decent lap time and compete with the other gamers.
“This is the closest I can get to being a race car driver, they told me it’s open to women too, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” Sam explained. “Driving on the simulator was a nice escape from traffic, it was fun to be able to just floor it!” she continued.
With the GT Academy, any player who can prove their driving skills in the world of video games can compete in a real racetrack. From the time trials in the recruitment stage that will run until June, the 20 fastest gamers will advance to the National Finals in July, where they will shift to real race cars. The top 6 drivers will join Asia’s best at the Race Camp in August at the prestigious Silverstone Racing Circuit in the UK where they will be tested on their strength, stamina, mental agility and of course, driving skills. The emerging winner will join others from the different regions in a series of rigorous training under the Driver Development Program.
Since its launch in 2008, the 2015 GT Academy season will be the biggest year yet. Gamers from up to 24 countries around the world are expected to join, with GT Academy International and Asia reaching a staggering 2.2 billion potential entrants. Nissan and PlayStation are looking for the finest to progress from virtual racing to the real world of racing for Nissan.
To date, the fastest lap time recorded in the Philippines is 1:02:762 and the slowest in the top 20 is 1:03:671. So far, 3,005 attempts have been recorded in the live recruitment events which started last April 10 and will run at various venues until June 28.
For GT Academy updates and Live Event schedules, please visit NPI’s Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/NissanPhilippinesInc.
