GT Academy 2015: Top Six U.S. National Finalists Announced

Six Gran Turismo 6 gamers are now one giant step closer to becoming Nissan’s next professional race car driver. Following two intense days of competition at the U.S. 2015 Nissan GT Academy Finals in Nashville, the following competitors have earned the right to represent the United States during the International Race Camp at the legendary Silverstone Circuit in England, where the next GT Academy Champion will be crowned:

Armen Agakhan (TRC_LoCoArM3n) – Glendale, California

Max King (maxking39) – Franklinville, New Jersey

JT Lauro (BLKJ_Evolution) – Seminole, Florida

Ryan Lynch (rclynch) – Broomfield, Colorado

Vladimir Skirda (vovik05) – Hermantown, Minnesota

Tyler Utley (proper_t11) – Santa Clara, Utah

These six finalists began the week as part of a group of the 20 best U.S. GT Academy gamers, who had each already defeated nearly 30,000 fellow online gamers in the past three months to reach the U.S. Finals in Nashville. Over the course of two days, the dedicated gamers took part in virtual races, fitness challenges, skill testing and on-track time trials in Nissan 370Z NISMOs Tuesday and Wednesday.

The competition kicked off on Tuesday morning with four rounds of highly competitive online racing, which was broadcast live over the course of nine hours on PlayStation’s official Twitch.tv channel. After an initial qualification round, players were grouped together based on points, which kept the racing and overall points standings close to the very end. You can watch a full recording of the live broadcast right here.

With the mid-summer sun shining and temperatures rising over 90 degrees, grueling fitness challenges late Wednesday morning included the “bleep test,” “planking challenge” and a push up competition. Contestants then took a short break for lunch before competing in time trials on the track Wednesday afternoon at Nashville Motor Speedway. Virtual and skill challenges were completed Tuesday.

By the end of the day Wednesday, these six finalists proved they had the on-track ability, strength, stamina, media prowess and more to earn the right to move on to the International Race Camp in August.

Americans Agakhan, King, Lauro, Lynch, Skirda and Utley now join an elite group of 30 GT Academy finalists from around the world. These global finalists – with six competitors each from the U.S., Mexico, Turkey, North Africa and Australia – will take part in a week-long Race Camp competition held at the famous Silverstone Circuit.

Here, competitors will once again be tested on their strength, stamina, mental agility and on-track driving skills. Judges will look for pure talent, drive, passion, dedication and more to determine who will be the 2015 GT Academy Champion, Nissan’s next professional race car driver.

The International Race Camp begins Thursday, August 6 and will conclude Wednesday, August 12. Stay tuned for more information on the next phase of the competition. Good luck, guys!

See more articles on GT Academy 2015.