GTPlanet

The GT Academy Experience is about to jump off the internet and on to the airwaves via Dave, a men’s television channel in the UK.  The 30-minute episodes are set to air on Saturday nights at 7:00 PM, starting today (April 4, 2009), but no word yet on exactly how many shows you can expect.  Dave has already posted videos from the event that GTPlanet put together back in February, so the show will probably be put together from that footage.  Nevertheless, if you’re in the UK, check it out, and don’t forget to enter to win the PlayStation 3 that Dave is giving away to promote the show.

Thanks to Jack for digging this up – check out Dave’s site for more details, or check out the full TV listings for air times.

Richard Meaden, professional racer and writer for the (awesome) online publication Drivers Republic, was a witness to history last month when he drove alongside GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez in the 24 Hours of Dubai.  Meaden eloquently describes the experience of the 24 hour event from a personal, honest point of view in his latest article, and it’s a fascinating read.  He covers the race build-up, paddock drama, trials and tribulations of endurance racing, and complements Ordóñez for his calm head and steady driving.

Moreover, he came away impressed by the performance of a driver who has probably spent more time in front of Gran Turismo than on the track:

Perhaps more significantly, thanks to Sony, Polyphony Digital and Nissan’s vision, the GT Academy has the potential to tap into a whole new stream of undiscovered talent.  Until just a few weeks ago the thought of a gamer trading times with a former Le Mans and GP winner in a 24-hour race was preposterous.  Now there seems no reason why we won’t see a virtual racer make it to F1.  Place your bets now…

Read the full article at Drivers-Republic…

As we reported, the GT Academy team put on a great show in last month’s 24 Hours of Dubai endurance race.  It’s both interesting and inspiring to fans of racing games everywhere – but what did it take for winners Lucas Ordoñez and Lars Schlommer to go to the next level?  It wasn’t as simple as getting in a car and showing the instructors what you can (or cannot…) do – the finals were a test of physical endurance, mental toughness, and driving skill.  To see what it was like for yourself, check out this awesome  ‘documentary’ put together by Sony/Nissan (trust me, this is really great stuff).  Click ‘play’ to watch Day 1 above, then check out Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5 after the jump.

If you want even more, subscribe to GTPlanet’s YouTube channel where we will be uploading more clips from GT Academy over the next few days.

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In an awesome demonstration of ‘virtual’ driving skills in the real world, GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez successfully competed in the 24 Hours of Dubai!  With highly experienced teammates like former F1 driver Johnny Herbert, Alex Buncombe, and Rob Barff, the pressure was on Lucas to keep the lap times low and the car on the track.  He managed to do just that, and despite a mechanical setback, helped the Nissan team finish 9th in their class 451 laps and over a distance of 2431km.

The significance of the event was not lost on Kazunori Yamauchi, who attended the race:

“It is a dream come true for me to see my game develop a real racing driver,” he said. “I have been hoping for it to happen for ten years.  Lucas’s performance has been excellent, but I would expect that from a driver trained using Gran Turismo. I haven’t had much time to watch him drive but he is very calm and never seems to worry. I always believed that someone good at GT could drive as fast as a professional; in fact, I think that they could even go faster.”

Without a doubt, this is a big milestone for motorsports and the Gran Turismo series – someone with ‘virtual’ experience held their own against some of the world’s top drivers, legitimizing ’sim racing’ as a way to break into a full blown racing career.  We wish the best to both Lucas and Lars, and will be keeping an eye on them here at GTPlanet to see where they go in the future.  For more on the race, check out the team’s official blog and these photos from the event.