In 2008 Lucas Ordoñez was studying for an MBA when he saw an advertisement for a new competition called ‘GT Academy’. Lucas had long held dreams of being a racing driver and saw this collaboration between Nissan and PlayStation as his last opportunity.
The rest, as they say, is history. His journey from virtual to reality became one of the major stories of the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, where Lucas fulfilled his dream of competing in the toughest endurance race of them all. The fact that he finished the race on the podium with his Signatech Nissan team-mates is testament to the strength of the GT Academy driver development programme.
As the inaugural winner of GT Academy Lucas has become the statesman that the new winners look up to. Since his 2008 win, GT Academy has gone global with competitions in Europe, USA, Russia, the Middle East Australia, India and South Africa, finding and nurturing new talent every season but Lucas will always be the pioneer.
In recent years Lucas has truly came of age as a professional racing driver, rising to every challenge that comes his way.
Lucas epitomises what GT Academy is all about. Take raw talent, nurture it, challenge it and watch it shine.
