PH team goes for glory at Nissan GT Academy 2016

The premise of the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy is that a good gamer can have the makings of a brilliant racing driver. Its goal is to accomplish just that: select a champion gamer and move him or her from behind the game screen to behind the steering wheel of an actual race car. “GT” stands for Gran Turismo, the flagship racing game of the Sony PlayStation video game console. The GT series of games has been improving with each edition, such that it is blurring the lines between a mere game and a true simulation of the racing experience.

An audacious initiative in 2008 saw Nissan Europe, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe and Polphony Digital create the virtual-to-reality contest. The approach had proven successful. GT Academy winners have gone on to successful racing careers. The first winner, Lucas Ordoñez from Spain, finished second in his category at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, while 2011 winner Jann Mardenborough from the UK has reportedly been ranked as one of the 50 most marketable athletes in the world. Last year, the Philippine GT Academy champion Jose Gerard Policarpio won the first ever Asian GT Academy. After a spectacular performance at the final race at Silverstone, he was selected as the Asia winner. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the Driver Development Programme due to a medical condition.

This year, six Philippine drivers were chosen as the top contenders after a series of GT Academy Live events. They are Quattro Adriano, Kim Jiger Aquino Chong, Richard Dean Jose, Jan Millard Lacuna, Mervin John Mallen, and the first-ever female GT Academy finalist, Elysse Menorca. The six attended the International Race Camp at Silverstone, UK. They were mentored by original champion Luis Ordoñez.

 

Of primary importance to the judges was, of course, the racing ability of the candidates as they transitioned from virtual racing to reality. To this end, they were tested by driving the Nissan GT-R Nismo at Pendine Sands in Wales. The 11-kilometer beach is infamous as a setting for land speed record attempts.

 

Another key competition was the stock car race at Northampton, a few miles from Silverstone. The teams drove identical stripped-out Nissan Micra subcompacts. Three competitors from each territory were on the very compact track—six cars circling at any time. The top three from the Philippines then were Quattro Adriano, Kim Jigier Aquino Chong and Richard Dean Jose took part in the race.  The stock car race determined the starting order of the final race at Silverstone. In a new twist, this competition was designed as an endurance-type race, with the two remaining top drivers taking turns behind the wheel of the 370Z race cars. For the Philippines, they were Adriano and Jose. Their teammates would help out as pit crew members.

 

 

The final race was one of the main factors for the decision on who would be crowned this year’s GT Academy champion. Mexico won the tight race, foreshadowing the eventual selection of Johnny Guindi Hamui as the 2016 GT Academy Champion. Richard Dean Jose was chosen as the Philippine champion.

 

For runner-up Quattro Adriano, participating in GT Academy was a dream come true. A car enthusiast from an early age, he found the real race driving remarkably similar from the simulation aspect of the Gran Turismo game, but found the emotional component something of a learning experience. While Adriano found driving the 370Z a bit of a challenge, the Philippine champion Richard Dean Jose relished it. In contrast, the stock car challenge with the Nissan Micras was more difficult to master. Jose took the 2016 season seriously, building up his fitness through running and biking.

 

The Philippine Nissan PlayStation GT Academy team flies home with a once-in-a-lifetime experience of training and racing, of moving from the virtual to the real.