Lucas Ordonez

The GT Academy 2011 driver development programme shifted up a gear last weekend when European winner Jann Mardenborough had his first competitive outing in a 420bhp Nissan 370Z GT4 race car. Racing in the Welsh Sports and GT Championship at Pembrey, Wales, the gamer-turned-racing driver recorded two strong third place finishes and a fourth in the weekend’s three races.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo8BVV602Oc

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.

GTPlanet is very excited to team up with Nissan to co-host a live Twitter question & answer session with Lucas Ordonez, the real-world racing star that’s emerged from the first GT Academy competition! As you know, Lucas and his Signatech Nissan team just finished second-in-class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first race in the 2011 International Le Mans Cup calendar. They’ll be participating in all the events around the world this year, including the ultimate endurance race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Great news for our man Lucas Ordoñez (winner of the first GT Academy)! Lucas and his team, RJN Motorsports, have qualified their Nissan 370Z have first in its class for the Spa 24 Hours race this weekend. I’m not aware of any online live video streams of the race (if you find one, please share it in the comments below), but Lucas has promised me that he’ll be constantly updating his Twitter feed and his Facebook page directly from the paddock throughout the event. Good luck, Lucas!

At the Spanish GT Academy 2010 finals, Lucas Ordoñez, winner of the first GT Academy, got to try his hand at the latest GT5 build running the competition. Here’s his lap around the Nurburgring Nordschleife! Thanks to everyone (including Lucas himself!) for sending this in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9V2YgZ7jjY

Before the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Demo was released to the public, it was open to a few members of the press and special VIPs involved with the GT series. While their hot laps and replays were taken offline when the leader boards were reset, they live on thanks to more videos via TaxiGamer. Below you’ll find clips of Kazunori Yamauchi and the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez. Six-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb was also spotted in the rankings, though I can’t find any video footage of his lap at the moment. If you have it, please share the link below!

When Lucas Ordonez won the first GT Academy, we all knew he had a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders. He would be given the opportunity to enter a 24 hour endurance race with world-class drivers and sim racers everywhere watched closely as he lived the dream. Since then, we’ve seen him win races and fight for the FIA GT4 driver’s championship around the world. He made it look all too easy, but as this latest interview shows, his accomplishments are the result of a lot of determination and hard work.