Saturday, 18 August, 2012: Some of the fastest PlayStation® Gran Turismo®5 gamers from across Europe converged on Silverstone, the home of British motor racing, on Friday in preparation for the GT Academy 2012 European Race Camp. The huge task of discovering which of the 36 gamers has what it takes to become a real racing driver, competing at the Dubai 24 Hours in a Nissan 370Z GT4 in January, began in earnest on Saturday.

Race Camp certainly started in style, with the competitors flown over Silverstone in helicopters before meeting the experienced team of mentors that will guide them through the gruelling week of challenges ahead. Day 1 was about measuring the performance of each competitor before the benefit of the Silverstone team’s excellent tuition. First up was a benchmark test around Silverstone’s Stowe Circuit – the base for Race Camp – in Nissan 370Zs. One-to-one instruction in 370Zs took place on the Southern Circuit before the competitors were put through their paces by the GT Academy fitness team for a benchmark fitness test.

The 36 gamers had emerged from the 830,000 people who entered this year’s GT Academy on a special Gran Turismo download for PS3™, before beating their closest rivals in highly competitive national finals events.

European Race Camp for 2012 has, effectively, been divided into six ‘mini’ race camps made of six territory groups. The competitors taking part are:

FRANCE	ITALY	UK and IRELAND
Sebastien BERTRAND	Andrea COSARO	Daniel GLOVER
Anthony DUVAL	Andrea FASULO	David WILLIAMS
Pierre LENOIR	Darian ROJNIC	Istvan DEMES
Steven GASSIOT	Francesco Paolo BASSO	Jack O’NEILL
Quentin VANDURA	Matteo MASIERA	Thomas GIBSON
Kevin BARTSCH	Moreno COVERI	Des FOLEY (IRE)
IBERIA	BENELUX	SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA, POLAND
Diogo SOUSA (POR)	Wolfgang REIP (BEL)	Rolf UELTSCHI (SUI)
Hugo GONÇALVES (POR)	Sacha GORLÉ (BEL)	Guillaume BLANC (SUI)
Raul PEREIRA (POR)	Maxim ANDRE (BEL)	Christoph STINGEDER (AUT)
Daniel HERRERA (ESP)	Frank VAN GASTEREN (NED)	Matthias REISNER (AUT)
Jesus SICILIA (ESP)	Enrico MELE (NED)	Tomasz BOGUSLAWSKI (POL)
Luis MUÑOZ (ESP)	Hani AL SABTI (NED)	Krystian KORZENIOWSKI (POL)

Looking after the competitors is an impressive line-up of country mentors with top-level racing experience. These include: Formula One drivers Johnny Herbert (UK), René Arnoux (FRA), Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA), Sébastien Buemi (CH) and Dani Clos (ESP); sports car drivers Bas Leinders (BEL), Rob Barff (UK), Franck Mailleux (FRA) and GT Academy graduates Lucas Ordoñez (ESP), Jordan Tresson (FRA) and Jann Mardenborough (GB); as well as touring car driver Tim Coronel (NED).

For the final challenge of the day the entire GT Academy operation de-camped to a nearby dedicated Kart track for two races. All 36 competitors took to the track together, but six separate races were at the heart of the competition as the racing driver hopefuls fight to be crowned territory champion and proceed to the final two days of Race Camp.

Comments from Day 1 of Race Camp

Winner of the first GT Academy in 2008 Lucas Ordoñez (ESP): “This year is incredible as it is so big. It’s interesting to see 36 gamers here. The format has changed since I won it and it’s fantastic to see it growing, to see the staff, and so many different activities going, including lots of really serious driving challenges. I’m really enjoying my time here, but there is some pressure on me to help the Spanish and Portuguese guys but also to make some difficult decisions when the time comes.”

Winner of the second GT Academy in 2010 Jordan Tresson (FRA): “I have just been with the French guys today, so I haven’t really seen the other competitors. From what I’ve seen so far, these guys are pretty strong, so, as ever, it will be a real fight for them. It’s great for me to see it from this side rather than being amongst them. I can relax and enjoy the whole event. Well, at least until I start driving myself on Friday for this weekend’s WEC race at Silverstone.

“I’ve been giving them advice on the different activities. First and foremost they must listen to the instructors as its most important for the whole week, and also to enjoy what you are doing because you can experience a lot of things and it is not just about being fast. It’s a lot of hard work but will be well worth it.”

Winner of GT Academy in 2011, Jann Mardenborough (UK): “It’s nice that GT Academy is getting bigger and better, we have loads more time at Silverstone and that means we have some interesting challenges lined up for the competitors.

“There are a few good guys from the UK but I have been trying to keep an eye on the others and I’ve spotted a Portuguese guy who is quick, and, as always, the French look good. For sure there will be at least one quick driver from every group, but we must not get carried away as it is only day one and we may find someone in the competition who is a late bloomer or has picked up on the advice from the mentors.

“My role along with Rob Barff and Johnny Herbert is to scout out the quick guys from the UK and see how they develop as a driver over the next couple of days It’s nice to see the whole GT Academy from the other side of the fence, I can watch the driver grow so yes, it will be a very interesting seven days coming up!

Tomasz Boguslawski, competitor from Poland, a country participating in GT Academy for the first time: “Today has made the national finals in Warsaw look like a walk in the park! The level of competition is so great here. This is an intense experience, I love it, constantly being in different cars, doing different challenges is fantastic. I really don’t know what to expect from the week. I know that I will be surprised and I think that the organisers will be surprised by our pace over the next few days as we get more and more used to the surroundings.

“Sebastien Buemi has been a massive help. He has pointed out how to take the kerbs and corners and I am learning a lot from him. I’ve never karted, let alone driven cars like this before, so it is great and I can be really proud of myself.

“It hasn’t really sunk in that I am here amongst the best gamers and some major names such as Johnny Herbert. I have to stay focused and impress these greats if I want to continue and that is great motivation.”