As part of its long-standing partnership with Nissan, Polyphony Digital are supporting this competition with a unique, early version of the new edition of Gran Turismo Sport featuring Nissan cars exclusively for the live recruitment phase of GT Academy 2016, meaning that those participating in GT Academy 2016 will be amongst the first in Thailand to experience this early version of Gran Turismo Sport before its release date.
This year six territories, namely, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, North Africa (Algeria, Egypt & Morocco), the Philippines and Thailand are hosting this global initiative, which has seen 6 million entrants since it first launched in Europe in 2008. "The GT Academy is inspired by the belief that excellent virtual racing-gamers can become professional race drivers if they are properly trained in high-level motorsports skills. That dream was realized for the winners of the Nissan GT Academy in previous years, such as current NISMO athletes Lucas Ordonez and Jann Mardenborough," said Mr. Kazutaka Nambu, President of Nissan Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
"The Nissan GT Academy in Thailand Season 3 is in line with our Brand DNA of 'Innovation that Excites'. We believe in the capabilities of Thai racing enthusiasts, and we support them to unlock their potential, follow their dreams, and get to taste the real world-class motorsports," added Mr. Nambu
Building on the success of Seasons 1 and 2, which generated overwhelming interest from more than 60,000 young-generation gamers in Thailand nationwide, this year gamers will compete in the "Nissan GT Academy Live Events in Bangkok" which are schedule to be on July 1st -3rd
at the Future Park Rangsit shopping mall and July 8th- 10th at EDEN zone, Central World and the Top 20 from the live events will be invited to join the Thailand National Final Competition on August 17th -18th at Pathumthani Speed Way, Phathumthani. Ultimately, only the six best will earn their tickets to the "Nissan GT Academy Race Camp" in the United Kingdom in October, 2016.
In February Nissan announced its 2016, global motorsport programme confirming that previous winners of the Nissan GT Academy would continue to fly the flag for Nissan; Jann Mardenborough recently made the dream move to Japan where he competes in GT300 and Japanese Formula 3; Ricardo Sanchez takes part in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup; Lucas Ordonez, Matt Simmons and Romain Sarazin all contest the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup; Bryan Heitkotter races in the Pirelli World Challenge and Nick Hamman competes in Canada's Nissan Micra Cup.
"I entered the Nissan GT Academy competition to achieve my dream of becoming a professional racing driver", said Matt Simmons, winner of the 2015 Nissan International GT Academy. "GT Academy is an opportunity to make your racing dreams come true. To make the most of it, you have to believe in yourself and your abilities but most of all, enjoy the experience".
For more information on Nissan GT Academy Thailand Season 3, please visit: http://gtacademy.nissan.co.th