Japanese automobile major Nissan is giving a promising push to developing motorsports in India. The company feels its well-tested concepts such as the Gran Turismo (GT) Academy, and other innovations, have helped drive the demand for fast cars.
For the uninitiated, Gran Turismo is a series of racing video games developed exclusively for the PlayStation systems by developer Polyphony Digital. GT Academy is a collaboration between Nissan, Sony (maker of PlayStation consoles) and Polyphony to provide gamers with an alternative route to motorsports.
Players at Nissan’s GT Academy begin with virtual racing on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, and try their luck at Nissan Playstation set-ups on special gaming rigs where racing enthusiasts try to outwit each other on a virtual circuit.
This leads to a National Finals, from where the winners of each region compete for real in Nissan cars at Race Camp. This experience involves week-long testing and challenges, which can result in elimination.
“Since 2008, Race Camp has been based at Silverstone Circuit, UK, where the title of GT Academy Winner is awarded to whoever demonstrates the greatest potential to make the switch from Gran Turismo gamer to real racer. Competition winners are rewarded with a place in Nissan’s Driver Development Programme as well as entry into an international race or series with Nissan,” Nissan India President (Operations) Guillaume Sicard told Deccan Herald.
With the launch of Nissan GT Academy, Nissan India hopes to strengthen the brand in the country, owned by Nissan since 2008.
“We launched GT Academy 2015 in Delhi on June 4, 2015, followed by Live Qualifying rounds in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, which saw participation of around 10,000 contestants. The GT Academy online final qualification rounds commenced on June 2, and concluded on June 16, on Gran Turismo 6 for PlayStation 3,” Sicard said.
At the national finals held in Chennai on July 1, six racing enthusiasts were selected. They will now move to Silverstone, for the ultimate race camp. There they will compete with finalists from Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines in the GT Academy Asia Championship. One winner from here will then get a chance to undergo a driver development programme and compete for Nissan at Dubai 24-Hours.
Anybody above the age of 18, with a driving licence, can participate for GT Academy live qualifying rounds. “The future of Indian motorsports looks bright to us. Formula One in particular has taken off in the country in the last few years. There is more passion and knowledge of motorsports in India.”
The drivers are talented and eager to participate in international motorsport racing series. We would like to create a talent pool of the finest racing drivers from the country who can represent India at international races. The youth of the country is very confident and dedicated towards motorsport, and this sport can see many buyers in the country in the near future,” Sicard said.