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==History==
GT Academy was conceived by [[Darren Cox]],
In 2008, Darren Cox's concept materialized with the founding of Nissan GT Academy, a joint venture between Sony and Nissan, which took its name from the well-known ''Gran Turismo'' video game series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/sports/autoracing/15iht-srplaystation15.html|title=From the Virtual Track to the Real One|first=Brad|last=Spurgeon|date=14 June 2012|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> In the same year, inaugural GT Academy competition took place, with Spain's Lucas Ordóñez claiming victory.<ref name="auto2"/><ref name="auto"/> Following a commendable performance at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours, Nissan enlisted Ordóñez for its works racing team.<ref name="auto2"/> Cox is portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]] in a [[Gran Turismo (film)|film named after the game ''Gran Turismo'']], released in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/orlando-bloom-gran-turismo-movie-darren-barnett-cast|title=Orlando Bloom Joins Gran Turismo Movie, Production Begins This Week|first=Ryan|last=Leston|date=20 September 2022|website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/>
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From 2010 to 2016, the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy program saw twenty-one additional winners, many of whom had success on track including Championship wins, Podiums and international races, such as the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia.<ref name="auto2"/>
GT Academy continued in 2010, expanding to 17 countries, including [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]]. A GT Academy-oriented [[Downloadable content|DLC]] for ''Gran Turismo 5'' was released to the public, and was the prerequisite required for participants to qualify for the programme. The DLC was downloaded by participants more than 1.3 million times during its active period.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} In 2011, the competition expanded to the [[United States]], where Bryan Heitkotter became the first GT Academy Winner outside of Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bryan Heitkotter - GT Academy |url=https://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/academy/graduates/bryan/ |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=gran-turismo.com |language=en}}</ref> The European competition in 2011 began at the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] in [[Le Mans]], [[France]], as inaugural GT Academy Winner [[Lucas Ordoñez]] made his Le Mans race debut. 2012 saw the beginning of live events, offering a way into GT Academy for those without access to a PlayStation 3 console or [[Gran Turismo (series)|''Gran Turismo'']] game.
In 2013, GT Academy included competitions in [[Europe]], the United States, [[Germany]], [[Russia]], the [[Middle East]] and [[South Africa]], each entering the competition for the first time on ''[[Gran Turismo 6]]''. In 2014, a new International competition was introduced, broadening GT Academy again to Australia and the Middle East, and for the first time to [[India]], [[Mexico]], and [[Thailand]]. The sixth season in 2014 grew to include separate competitions for Europe (France, [[Italy]], United Kingdom, Spain, [[Portugal]], [[Belgium]], [[Netherlands]], [[Luxembourg]], Russia, [[Sweden]], [[Poland]], and [[Czech Republic]]), Germany, North America (United States and [[Canada]]) and an International group (Australia, India, Middle East, Mexico and Thailand). In the [[2015 Dubai 24 Hour]] race, four new GT Academy winners finished second in the GT3 Pro-Am class and fifth overall out of 95 cars, just months after winning their respective GT Academy competitions. The round in [[Malaysia]] was planned in 2015, together with new countries such as [[Japan]] and [[Indonesia]].
==Format==
Developed for television by Executive Producers Andrew Hill and Rabin Mukerjea, the contest comprised different phases. Players began with virtual racing on [[Polyphony Digital]]'s ''[[Gran Turismo (series)|Gran Turismo]]'' games and progressed to National Finals before the winners of each region competed for real in actual Nissan cars at Race Camp. This experience involved week-long testing and challenges that also involved elimination. Throughout all seasons of the programme, 'Race Camp' was based at [[Silverstone Circuit]] in the [[United Kingdom]] where the winner was crowned to whoever demonstrated the highest potential to transition from Gran Turismo gamer to a real racer. Nissan's Driver Development Program was included to try and assist GT Academy winners to develop the skills needed to compete against those with years of car racing experience. Over six seasons, more than five million people had entered GT Academy via PlayStation 3. GT Academy winners who qualified to compete in the international race or series were also considered for a potential future racing career with Nissan as a Nismo Athlete.
=== Entrance requirements ===
According to the GT Academy site on the Gran Turismo website, GT Academy required entrants to be over the age of 18 and hold a valid driver's license, and never have a racing license equivalent to [[Motor Sport Association UK]] A class license or higher. Any contestant who made it to Race Camp in any of the previous GT Academy competitions was generally restricted to the Online Qualification stage of the GT
===Phase one: Qualification===
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GT Academy has turned video gamers to racing drivers over a period of months, and NISMO Athletes have competed at international car racing competitions since 2009.
At the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]], Lucas Ordoñez finished second in the LM P2 category in 2011, and in 2013 he finished third alongside [[Jann Mardenborough]] (2011 European winner). In 2014, [[:fr:
In the [[Blancpain Endurance Series]], Jordan Tresson was winner of the GT4 class in 2011. In 2013, the Pro-Am cup was won by Lucas Ordoñez, while the Pro-Am team cup was won by Nissan GT Academy Team RJN, which included Jann Mardenborough, [[:fr:
GT Academy Winners have also competed in the [[Dubai 24 Hour]]s, [[FIA GT Series]], [[FIA World Endurance Championship]], [[British GT Championship]], [[FIA Formula 3 European Championship]]s, [[British Formula 3 International Series|British Formula Three Championship]], TRS Single-Seater Series, [[IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge]], SCCA Solo National Championship and the [[United SportsCar Championship]]. In 2012, Lucas Ordoñez competed at the [[Petit Le Mans]] in the Nissan [[DeltaWing]] race car, and in 2014 began racing in the [[Super GT]] Series, class GT300, with NDDP Racing. In the same year, Jann Mardenborough began racing in the [[GP3 Series]] with Arden International, and at Motorland Aragon raced for the first time in a [[Formula Renault 3.5]] test. In September 2014, Nissan announced that former US GT Academy Winners and finalists would be considered for Nissan's new LM P1 Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA World Endurance Championship Team.
On 8 February 2015, GT Academy graduates [[:fr:
Mardenborough's achievements since winning GT Academy saw him named as one of the 50 most marketable athletes in the world by Sports Pro Media in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2017 |title=50 Most Marketable 2015 - Jann Mardenborough |url=https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/jann_mardenborough_2015/}}</ref>
In 2016, [[:fr:
{| class="wikitable"
!Season
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|{{flagicon|KSA}} Ahmed Bin-Khanen
|Asia
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIA WTCR - Ahmed Bin Khanen joins for home event - automobilsport.com |url=https://www.automobilsport.com/race-categories--24,245523,FIA-WTCR---Ahmed-Bin-Khanen-joins-for-home-event,news.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212001520/https://www.automobilsport.com/race-categories--24,245523,FIA-WTCR---Ahmed-Bin-Khanen-joins-for-home-event,news.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=12 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=www.automobilsport.com}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="3" |2015
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==Impact==
A fictionalized account of the GT Academy driving academy and gamer-driver Mardenborough was made into the 2023 dramatic biopic film ''[[Gran Turismo (film)|
=== Recognition ===
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[[Category:Defunct esports competitions]]
[[Category:Sports car racing series]]
[[Category:Gran Turismo (series)|Academy]]
[[Category:Nissan in motorsport]]
[[Category:2008 British television series debuts]]
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