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Remember Nissan’s GT Academy program, which sought to turn Gran Turismo 5 champions into racing drivers? It seems to have produced a GT4-class victor.
Lucas Ordoñez, along with co-driver Alex Buncombe, won the GT4 European Cup race in Spain last Saturday, allowing the duo to clinch the second-place series title. Eighteen months ago, however, Ordoñez was competing with thousands of other Playstation 3 gamers for a chance at some seat time.
“This has been the most amazing 18 months,” said Ordoñez. “When I look back at what has happened to me since I entered the online part of GT Academy on my PS3 there are just too many fantastic moments to list. The whole experience has been like a dream."
In 2008, Nissan announced its GT Academy program, which aimed to find the fastest GT5 player in Europe. The winner would then receive four months of race training, FIA racing licenses, and a car – a race-prepped 350Z – to field in the European GT4 championship. Although his team was plagued with a number of technical issues in the start, Ordoñez’s consistent driving helped ensure a string of victories.