Virtual becomes reality

There are mixed feelings in the Nissan PlayStation team after the TOYO tires 24h of Dubai endurance race. Everyone feels hard done by after such a merciless run of bad luck in the first 12 hours; the drivers were all magnificent when allowed onto the track and the pit crew worked miracles amidst trying circumstances to keep the car in the running long into Saturday morning. One victory that every team member can take credit for is for doing what nobody else has ever done – taking a novice from the virtual world of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and developing him into a real racing driver.

The ease of his transition may surprise some, but not Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi. “It is a dream come true for me to see my game develop a real racing driver,” he said. “I have been hoping for it to happen for ten years.”

“Lucas’s performance has been excellent, but I would expect that from a driver trained using Gran Turismo. I haven’t had much time to watch him drive but he is very calm and never seems to worry. I always believed that someone good at GT could drive as fast as a professional; in fact, I think that they could even go faster.”

Lars will perhaps feel the greatest disappointment, but what he has achieved in such a short time is also astounding and he too now has a stepping stone into racing that so few get.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of an endurance race is being around people that can remain laid-back amidst such fierce competition and incredible feats of skill and endurance. The Nissan PlayStation team has achieved so much in this race, and any disappointment will be taken on the chin. The one phrase you hear constantly when walking along the pit-lanes is: “that’s motorsport!”

Read more

Lars offers insight from behind the scenes

What are your thoughts on the race so far?

It has been difficult; there are a lot of cars on the track and we have had problems with the steering and a punctured tyre. At the moment something has happened on the track; it must be a crash somewhere because the safety car is out and everyone has to drive slowly. I didn’t see what happened.

Have you been impressed with Lucas’s driving?

Yes, he is posting some fantastic times and coping well with the traffic, but it comes as no surprise to me because I know how good he is.

What have you been doing in the pit-lane to help out?

I’ve been sitting in the timing booth, recording Lucas’s lap times and reporting back to the mechanics. If a time is unusually slow it means that he has a problem and we need to find out what it is

It’s getting dark, does that present a new challenge for Lucas?

Night driving is different because you have bright lights approaching you from behind; it’s very difficult.

Is this the first endurance race you have been to?

I live in Bonn so I always try to see the endurance race at the Nürburgring. There’s a special atmosphere here in Dubai. It is very cold in Germany but here the sun is shining and everyone is having a great time.

Read more

Johnny Herbert talks to gtacademy.eu

Are you proud of what GT Academy has achieved?
Definitely so, people have spoken for a long time about taking someone from virtual racing and seeing if they can do the real thing but nobody has had the courage to do it. It’s amazing that we have done it in such a short space of time, and myself and the rest of the team are there to help Lucas through what is a completely new experience.

How confident were you of finding virtual drivers that could perform on the track?
The level at the Silverstone Grand Final was much higher than I expected which was encouraging. One of the interesting things about all of the guys we saw was that their experience of playing Gran Turismo had been purely visual; I use my eyes but I’ve learnt to use the feel of the car when I drive, which you can’t fully replicate in a game. To the credit of those who came to Silverstone, they were all able to jump into a racing car and absorb what we were teaching them very quickly.

Is dealing with the media as much a learning process for Lars and Lucas as what they do on the track?
Absolutely, because it’s all part of racing. I’m used to it because I’ve done this so many times, but sometimes you do want to focus fully on the race in those hours before the start. I have learnt to get the interviews out of the way and then switch my mind to race mode.

Can you see them now pursuing careers in motorsport?
Motorsport is a hard game to get into, but GT Academy has given them the best possible chance. Yesterday, during practice, Lucas was only two seconds a lap slower than myself and the rest of the team, which shows how far he has come along in the short time he has been with us. If we get a good result today, then he will receive a lot of media attention and possibly the chance to start out in this form of racing. It’s an opportunity very few get and if he grabs it by the horns then who knows where it will take him. Like anything in life, if you try hard then you’re in with a chance. Read more

GT Academy winners arrive in Dubai

Excitement is building for the TOYO tires 24h of Dubai endurance race, but not without a tinge of disappointment. To take a driver from novice to International license level in just three months was never going to be easy; Lars Schlömer faced additional challenges along the way and unfortunately has had to relinquish his seat in the Nissan 350Z GT4.

Illness forced him to miss vital training exercises such as the night race, leaving him with less experience than Lucas Ordóñez. This forced the team to make a tough decision.

Darren Cox, Interactive Marketing Manager of Nissan Europe said: “The Nissan PlayStation team have assessed the situation prior to Dubai and have made the decision that Lars is not quite ready to join the team on the track for the final race. We are proud of what he has achieved and look forward to working with him in 2009.”

Despite obvious disappointment, Lars is here in Dubai to support Lucas and the rest of the Nissan PlayStation team, and he remains a valued member of the team assisting with race strategy. Making it this far is an incredible achievement of which he and his family can be extremely proud. Read more

All eyes on GT Academy winners

Schlömer and Ordóñez prepare for a thrilling climax to their racing adventure: the TOYO Tires 24h of Dubai endurance race.

When German taxi driver Lars Schlömer and Spanish student Lucas Ordóñez bought their copies of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, they were unaware of the incredible journey that lay before them.

Ten months on, they line up alongside legends of motoring and compete as racing drivers in the TOYO Tires 24h of Dubai endurance race, all thanks to GT Academy. The pan-European search for undiscovered talent began on PlayStation Network, with 25,000 PLAYSTATION 3 owners competing to set the fastest lap around the Eiger Norwand course. The quickest in each country, as decided by National Final events across Europe, were invited to Silverstone in England to prove their skills behind the wheel of a real Nissan GT-R, and when the final chequered flag fell, Schlömer and Ordóñez claimed their places on the Nissan PlayStation Race Team.

Driving alongside them on the team is British Formula One legend Johnny Herbert, who has a wealth of experience in endurance racing, having won the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991. Completing the team are Alex Buncombe, a driver with considerable experience in the Nissan 350Z GT4 race car that the team will be using, and GT Academy head of driving, Rob Barff.

In its fourth year, the TOYO Tires 24h of Dubai is growing in esteem among the racing community and, as a result, the Nissan PlayStation Race Team will have a strong international line-up of competitors to deal with, not to mention the gruelling distance and searing Persian Gulf heat. Competitors include German touring car stalwarts Roland Asch and Kurt Thiim in the Besaplast Racing Team’s Porsche 997 and Chinese GP2 driver Ho Pin Tung, who will take his seat in the Mosler MT900 GT3 run by Gravity Racing of Luxemburg.

In preparation, Schlömer and Ordóñez have been competing in events across the UK, earning their racing licenses and getting to grips with a range of Nissan racing cars. “It's going to be a tough race and I have much to work on before January,” Schlömer told eu.playstation.com. “I need to improve my fitness in order to race for longer periods and I need more time in the Nissan 350Z GT4. Everything is going to be new for me in Dubai: my first international race, a new style of racing and a new car.”

It has been quite a year for the two drivers in-training; their racing dreams have been taken from the virtual world of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and made real by the GT Academy. However they fare in Dubai, nobody can deny that they have made magnificent progress in just 10 months, and with the guidance of Johnny Herbert and the support of the Nissan PlayStation team, they have every chance of leaving a lasting impression on the racing community.

For more information on GT Academy and live coverage of the TOYO Tires 24h of Dubai from January 8, 2009, head to granturismoworld.com. Read more