Following the Gran Turismo network maintenance this morning (01.00 – 03.00 GMT/UTC), a small game update has been released.

New Time and Drift Trials have just gone live in Gran Turismo 5’s Seasonal Events, placing the spotlight on French cars. Here’s a closer look at what’s new:

Following up on their “Road to Dubai” series, which covered the development of all four GT Academy graduates as they worked towards this year’s Dubai 24 Hours, the Eurosport television network has now turned their attention to Lucas Ordoñez and Jordan Tresson’s preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Two new rounds of time trials have just been unlocked in the free GT Academy 2012 mini-game, just as participants log nearly 50 million miles driven in the simulator. Here’s a closer look at the new challenges:

Polyphony Digital diverts from their usual pattern with the latest GT5 Seasonal Event, featuring FF cars with no more than 430PP.

A new update for Gran Turismo 5, version 2.06, has just been launched and is now available for download.

After 24 hours of all-weather driving and some unbelievable twists and turns, Team GT Academy safely brought home their #123 Nissan GT-R first in their SP8T class and 30th overall.

As reported yesterday, the 40th Nürburgring 24 Hours gets underway at 16:00 CEST (14:00 GMT) today, with the Team GT Academy car 47th on the 171-car grid – and first in the SP8T class.

12 months after he scored a class victory for Schulze motorsport, Gran Turismo founder Kazunori Yamauchi returns to the Nürburgring 24hr race but this time he has another famous Gran Turismo name accompanying him.

Jann Mardenborough, GT Academy Europe’s 2011 winner, has achieved his first pole position in international competition, less than a year after he first sat in a racing car. Even more impressively, he’s managed this feat at the Nürburgring and on his first visit to the track!

Three new Seasonal Events, featuring Time Trials, Drift Trials, and a new B-Spec race, are now available in Gran Turismo 5:

Last year’s U.S. GT Academy winner, Bryan Heitkotter, will be appearing in a special live-streamed event tonight on Twitch.tv.

UPDATE: This app has been removed from the App Store due to a complaint by Sony. More information on the circumstances are available here.

The third and fourth rounds of GT Academy 2012 have just been unlocked in the free downloadable mini-game which is hosting the international competition. As expected, the new rounds bring faster cars and more technical driving challenges:

Gran Turismo 5 users logging in today will have been greeted by the following announcement:

If you’re looking for a break from those GT Academy 2012 time trials, Gran Turismo 5’s latest A-Spec Seasonal Events may offer just what you need. Here’s a closer look at the new races:

Any questions about the authenticity of the Twin Ring Motegi screenshot that emerged yesterday can be quickly forgotten, as the image (along with another completely new shot) have been discovered on SCEA’s press site.

A very interesting new screenshot emerged today on German video game news site PlayFront, in an article they posted about GT Academy 2012. Included with a batch of various promotional images is one screenshot labeled “Round_8_Twin Ring Motegi East Short Course”, which you can see above.

GT Academy’s 2010 champion Jordan Tresson gets a second chance at an LMP2 debut this afternoon as the Signatech Nissan team take to the track for the WEC Spa 6 Hours.

With the GT5 GT Academy 2012 now available to gamers around the world, GTPlanet was able to get an interview with 2011 European GT Academy champion Jann Mardenborough. Jann was kind enough to answer a few questions for all the budding racing drivers and GT Academy hopefuls out there, to give insight into the before, during and after of the internationally successful Gamer-to-Racer program.