At 10am (local time) Saturday, May 24, Gran Turismo, Nissan Europe and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced details regarding the GT Academy at a special course side tent at the German Nurburgring 24 hour race.

The GT academy is a revolutionary trial utilizing the superior driver training aspect of Gran Turismo. Players from 10 European countries will compete against each other in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and the final 2 winners will be given the opportunity to enter a real life 24 hour race that will take place in January next year, in Dubai of the UAE. This is a completely new driver education procedure, tying together driving technique nurtured in the simulation environment of Gran Turismo with real life racing.

The following is an overview of the GT Academy:

Stage 1:
Starting June 2, 2008, a qualifying competition is held across 10 European countries through the online time attack in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. (The car used will be the Nissan Fairlady 350Z)

Stage Two：
In July 2008, the top 20 contestants from each country will partake in a final match event in each country, narrowing down to 3 finalists from each country.

Stage Three：
30 finalists in total from all the countries will gather on August 25, 2008 at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK, for a final judgment round. Undergoing various mental tests, physical tests, and circuit test in a real Nissan GT-R, the 2 fastest drivers are determined. These two drivers will then go through a 4 month training program to acquire their international racing licenses, and enter the Dubai 24 hour race in January 2009, with a Nissan Fairlady 350Z.

We hope you’ll divert your attention to this new attempt to bridge virtual and real life driving!

Comment from Gran Turismo series producer, Kazunori Yamauchi

"When the first Gran Turismo was created 10 years ago, I had dreamt that a professional racing driver will one day arise from someone that learned to drive in Gran Turismo. Thanks to the people at the Nissan Motor Company that took serious interest in Gran Turismo, I am very happy to be able to initiate a program as attractive as this. We’ll be achieving one great goal at the Dubai 24 hour race 9 months from now, and I’m confident that a wonderful new racing driver be born then, straight out of Gran Turismo. "

* The GT Academy is an event held across 10 European Countries. Please note that this program is not available for those outside Europe.