Fasten your seatbelts - Nissan PlayStation GT Academy comes to Chennai

Chennai, it’s time to put on your racing helmets and fasten your seatbelts. Nissan PlayStation GT Academy has come to Chennai and the qualifying rounds have started today to choose aspiring racers. The qualifying rounds will take place from today, June 5th to June 8th in the central atrium of Express Avenue Mall from 11.00 AM to 8.30 PM. After the qualifying rounds at the 2014 Auto Expo, Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in February, March, April and May 2014 respectively, Chennai is fifth city chosen by Nissan in their nationwide hunt to find India’s motor racing talent.

The GT Academy has already attracted around 4000 participants who have tried to best the others in the simulators. The quickest lap time so far is 1:59:357 that has been clocked by a Mumbai participant. Mr. Ajay Raghuvanshi, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Dealer Development, Nissan India said, “We’re delighted to launch GT Academy in India; bringing the programme here reinforces our commitment to growing the Nissan brand and developing relationships with both existing and potential customers. GT Academy really proves that Nissan stands for innovation and excitement for everyone.”

Mr. Atindriya Bose, Country Head, PlayStation India added, “The partnership with Nissan allows us to offer a combination of the virtual and real life experience of racing one’s dream car on one of the world’s most coveted circuits. The programme will test the racing acumen of enthusiasts on PlayStation GT6 racing simulators that focus on a high-end simulated driving experience. At Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru we have already witnessed a furor of excitement amongst gamers and racers and I'm sure in Chennai, it’s going to go to the next level. We expect this to be a tough challenge.”

The Chennai qualifiers will be the final leg of the GT Academy rounds and the winners will take part in the finals at Mumbai. Online qualifying round is also active on the Sony Entertainment Network Account (SEN) earlier popular as PlayStation Network (PSN). A total of 28 participants with the quickest laps , fourteen from Live Events and another fourteen from Online Qualification rounds will be eligible to enter the National Final.

The 28 contestants who go to Mumbai for the National Final will be put through a two-day intensive physical and mental training examination programme out of which, only six contestants will be filtered to be eligible for the International Race Camp at Silverstone in the United Kingdom. At the Silverstone Race Camp, the six shortlisted Indian contestants will be pitted against 18 qualified contestants from other nations that are also new to the programme.

The contestants will undergo and endure exhaustive training for mental and physical strength under the supervision of motorsports experts. After testing their driving skills at the Formula One Silverstone motor racing circuit in Nismo-tuned Nissan 370Zs and GT-Rs, only one contestant will move on to the Driver Development Programme and learn all the skills necessary to compete in an international ‘graduation race’. Sounds like a plan? Go racing.