Racing drivers wanted: Nissan brings GT Academy competition to Manchester
Nissan is on the hunt for the racing drivers of tomorrow and will be bringing the final leg of qualifying for its pioneering GT Academy competition to Manchester Trafford Centre on 12th and 13th September 2015.
Across the two-day event, motorsport enthusiasts are invited to put their gaming skills to the test and participate in a Gran Turismo®6 race on Nissan's circular PlayStation® pods. The top racers from Saturday and Sunday will be invited to come back for the final on Sunday, and will participate in a number of activities and interviews before one lucky gamer will win a place in the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy Race Camp in Abu Dhabi in October.
Timings for the event at Manchester Trafford Centre are as follows:
- Saturday 12th September: Qualification 10:00 - 21:00
- Sunday 13th September: Qualification 12:00 - 16:00
- Sunday 13th September: Final 16:00 - 18:00
Nissan and PlayStation have joined forces for a seventh year to offer a ‘dream job' to one lucky Gran Turismo gamer. The Nissan PlayStation GT Academy defies convention and opens up the possibility of a career in motorsport to anybody, male or female, that has ever harboured a desire to race.
Anyone over the age of 18 who has ever thought ‘what if...?' is invited by Nissan and PlayStation to ‘take another road' and pursue their dream job through the competition (terms & conditions apply). The qualifying event at Manchester in September will be the final opportunity for aspiring racing drivers in the UK to compete for a spot at the Race Camp in Abu Dhabi in October which will take place at the Yas Marina circuit.
After a series of challenges at Race Camp to unearth the winner, he or she will be put through one of the most advanced Driver Development Programmes in the world. The intense and comprehensive training will ready them for the ultimate prize - a season's racing in the competitive Blancpain Endurance Series driving a 550bhp Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 race car.
Since its inception in 2008, the success of GT Academy has continued to grow, underpinned by the stunning results produced by its graduates, who have had their lives transformed, becoming ‘NISMO Athlete' racing drivers. In 2015 alone, GT Academy graduates will compete in the top-level of the Le Mans 24 Hour race as well as in Formula 1 feeder series GP3, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Blancpain GT3 series and the top class of the Japanese Super GT series.
All the action from this year's competition can be followed on GT Academy's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GTAcademy), Twitter (www.twitter.com/GTAcademy) and Nismo.tv.
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Notes to Editors
About Nissan in the UK
- Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Note and Juke and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
- Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012
- Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than eight million units with 80 per cent of production exported to 100 markets worldwide
- Total investment made and announced since then is over £3.5 billion
- 500,238 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2014
- In 2014, one in three cars built in the UK was a Nissan.
- Sunderland Plant currently employs more than 6,700 people
- Nissan's European Design Centre is located in Paddington, London and employs around 65 people
- Nissan's European Technical Centre is based in Cranfield, Bedfordshire and employs around 1,000 people
- Nissan's sales and marketing headquarters in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire employs around 190 people
About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,600 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last financial year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 675,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, small cars, SUVs, commercial vehicles and electric vehicles, including the Nissan LEAF, the world's most popular electric vehicle with 96% of customers willing to recommend the car to friends. Nissan now offers a strong line-up of 23 diverse and innovative models in Europe under the Nissan and Datsun brands.
