It's the moment all of you aspiring race drivers have been waiting for: GT Academy 2012 has officially started. If you think you have what it takes, go to PlayStation Store and download the free demo of GT Academy 2012.

This national competition, designed to turn the best Gran Tursimo players into real-life race drivers welcomes drivers of all levels. Each participant will compete in a series of virtual trials, piloting Nissan cars, over an eight-week period in 40 different events. Each round features five events that players can retry as many times as they want. Only the fastest lap times will be recorded and ranked. Rounds 1 and 2 are the first set of trials to open.

The last stage of the eight-week competition will serve as the finale—Round 8, Event 5—where it all boils down to one FINAL online time trial challenge. Only the fastest lap times will go up on the national leader boards, so in order to move up in the rankings, you must continually improve your performance. Take all the key driving techniques that you have acquired from each of the trials, and unleash them in Round 8, Event 5. Your performance here will determine if you have what it takes to move on to the GT Academy 2012 National Finals.

A special page has been created for the 'GT Academy 2012' in gran-turismo.com. Check here for schedules, round details and the latest news.