Nissan GT Academy, an initiative by the Japanese car maker to introduce video gamers to the real world of motorsport, is now in its sixth year. While the competition is as tough as expected, Nissan has added another way for its fans to enter the competition. Until now, to be a part of the GT Academy, one could either set a fast lap time on the Sony PlayStation gaming title Gran Turismo 6 and compete with other online players, or be at one of the live events and compete there. Now you can get into the Academy by playing a game called GT Academy Challenge on Facebook.
The Facebook game, according to Nissan, tests reactions and driving skills of the players. The ones setting the highest scores will be invited to show their driving skills (in the virtual world, of course) and set their best times. Those who do will earn a place in their respective national finals, where they will be joined by the other fastest gamers (both in-game qualifiers and the winners at the live events).
The rest of the procedure remains the same. After the national finals, the shortlisted participants will head to the European Race Camp at Silverstone Circuit. After a week-long competition, this year's GT Academy champion will be chosen, who will also be given a chance to don a racing suit for Nissan for real, and eventually perform at the Dubai 24-hour race in January next year.
Anything else?
Much like the in-game qualification method, the GT Academy Challenge on Facebook is open until June 16. That leaves you with about two weeks to fine-tune your driving skills if you want to shine at this year's competition. The game is available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GTAcademy.
Commenting on the introduction of a new method to take part in the game, Sony Europe's Usama Al-Qassab said: "GT Academy is all about finding real racing talent from among the vast pool of super fast gamers. However, we know that not all the gamers out there will have a copy of Gran Turismo 6 and so this is a chance for them to enter by an alternative route, as well as being a lot of fun. They'll still have to prove themselves on GT6, however, to make it to the next stage."