Esports

Brian Heitkotter (GTXf_CudaMan) has just been announced as winner of the first U.S. GT Academy! The win comes at a great time for 30-year-old Brian, who is bouncing back in a big way after having been laid off from his former job as a delivery driver in California. Now, he gets a quick break at home before returning to England, where he’ll continue training throughout the summer with Nissan for the 24 Hours of Dubai next January. Congratulations, Brian!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVr5rQB1pRU

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is just a few weeks away now, and Lucas Ordoñez is doing what he can to get ready. Take a look at this video which shows one of the more interesting ways Lucas is being psychologically prepared for the hardships of a 24-hour race, with a simulated endurance drive around England in a Nissan GT-R.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_UdLgoft9w

Sony has released a batch of pictures from last week’s GT Academy 2011 Netherlands region finals, where 24-year-old Thomas Arends (Thomms) from The Hague and 20-year-old Edwin Bos (GTHQ_BosjesmanEB) from Groningen came out on top after completing a series of physical, media, and driving tests (just as finalists did in the UK & Ireland).

Winner of the first GT Academy “Wild Card” was just announced last week, and I’m very happy to report the award goes to GTPlanet’s own James Hudson. Hudson, who goes by TwinturboCH here in our forums, has now become the very first confirmed national finalist in all of Europe. The second UK “Wild Card”, of course, is still up for grabs in the GT5 time trials currently underway at GAME retailers around the country.

I’m very excited to announce that GTPlanet has partnered with GT Academy and the Gran Turismo Boutique to run two special challenges alongside this year’s GT Academy 2011! Here’s an overview of how each works: