Nissan and Sony announced today that the sixth edition of GT Academy will kick off worldwide on April 21st. As in previous editions, the competition will allow gamers to compete for a spot behind the wheel of a real life racecar.
Unlike previous editions though, this year’s competition will be open to more contestants than ever before. Competitions will be held in four regions; Europe (France, Italy, UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Russia, Sweden, Poland and Czech Republic), Germany, USA and International (Australia, India, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Mexico and Thailand). After competing in a three-month Driver Development Program, The winners of each region will team up and pilot a Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour race next January.
Even though the grand prize is a one-off race, it’s unlikely it’ll be the last for the winners. GT Academy has established an impressive track record of turning gamers into real-world racers. 2011 winner Jann Mardenborough already has a 24 Hours of Le Mans podium under his belt and now a ride in GP3. Inaugural winner Lucas Ordonez is representing Nissan’s NISMO brand in Japanese Super GT Championship this season. 2012 champion Wolfgang Reip will join Ordonez for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as well.
With so many GT Academy champions moving on to the next level, I’m sure the 2014 champions will be no different. The competion starts in a week, are you ready?