The GT Academy 2012 Race Camp officially kicked off today at the world renowned Silverstone Circuit in the UK. Nearly 400,000 people from across the United States entered the second iteration of Nissan and PlayStation®’s innovative gamer-to-racer competition this year, and only the Top 16 remain in the competition. For the next 7 days, each of the competitors will be put through a grueling program of on and off-track challenges to assess their potential to make the switch from Gran Turismo 5 virtual experience to a real-world Nissan sports car such as the 370Z and GT-R.


Since hosting the first ever Formula One world championship race in 1950, Silverstone has become a vibrant, modern home of British motor racing with top-class facilities. It is a fitting location for GT Academy Race Camp. The week-long format remains a secret, but is certain to include top-class race instruction in a variety of Nissan cars combined with on and off-track challenges that will test the potential, skill, determination, fitness, mental strength and speed of the competitors.

In the end, only one driver who is judged as having most natural talent and potential to succeed as a professional race driver will be crowned the GT Academy 2012 U.S. Champion! After that, he will start down the dream path to train, obtain a racing license, and make his ultimate debut as a professional race driver for Nissan Motorsports.