Content deleted Content added
→History: references |
Filled in 5 bare reference(s) with reFill 2 |
||
Line 1:
{{short description|Television programme}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox sport tournament
Line 23 ⟶ 22:
==History==
GT Academy was conceived by [[Darren Cox]], a former Nissan Europe executive, in 2006 to help Sony PlayStation racing gamers become professional racing drivers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Spurgeon |first=Brad |date=2012-06-14 |title=From the Virtual Track to the Real One |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/sports/autoracing/15iht-srplaystation15.html |access-date=2022-12-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> <ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.topgear.com/car-news/gaming/new-gran-turismo-movie-will-hit-cinemas-11-august-2023|title=The new Gran Turismo movie will hit cinemas on 11 August 2023|date=5 January 2023|website=Top Gear}}</ref> A small event was held in 2006 in a partnership with Sony, where participants competed in the Gran Turismo game and on an actual track for a Nissan 350Z prize.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/06/sony-is-making-a-gran-turismo-movie-due-next-august/|title=Sony is making a Gran Turismo movie, due next August|first=Jonathan M.|last=Gitlin|date=15 June 2022|website=Ars Technica}}</ref><ref
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
From 2010 to 2016, the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy program saw twenty-one additional winners, many of who had success on track including Championship wins, Podiums and international races, such as the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hours in Australia.<ref
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.
Line 60 ⟶ 59:
== Competitions ==
For 2015, there were three GT Academy competitions based on region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/GTAcademy
* GT Academy Europe: ''France, Italy, Germany, UK, Iberia (Spain, Portugal), Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands) and CEE (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary)''
* GT Academy Asia: ''Japan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia''
Line 115 ⟶ 114:
|{{flagicon|USA}} Steve Doherty
|USA
|<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |title=GT Academy |url=https://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/academy/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=gran-turismo.com |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|DEU}} Peter Pyzera
Line 132 ⟶ 131:
|{{flagicon|PRT}} Miguel Faisca
|Europe
|<ref name="auto1"/>
|-
|{{flagicon|USA}} Nick McMillen
| |||