Six U.S. Nissan GT Academy finalists earn spots at International Race Camp in England

ABOVE, from left to right: Tyler Utley, 28, Santa Clara, UT; Ryan Lynch, 27, Broomfield, CO; Max King, 19, Franklinville, NJ; Vladimir Skirda, 31, Hermantown, MN; J.T. Lauro, 27, Clearwater, FL; Arman Aghakhan, 25, Glendale, AZ.


These six Gran Turismo 6 gamers are a step closer to becoming Nissan's next professional racecar driver. Following two intense days of competition at the U.S. Nissan GT Academy Finals in Nashville, the following competitors have earned the right to represent the United States during the International Race Camp at Silverstone Circuit in England, where the next GT Academy Champion will be crowned.

These six finalists began the week as part of a group of the 20 best U.S. GT Academy gamers, who had each already defeated nearly 30,000 fellow online gamers in the past three months to reach the U.S. Finals in Nashville. Over the course of two days, the dedicated gamers took part in virtual races, fitness challenges, skill testing and on-track time trials in Nissan 370Z NISMOs Tuesday and Wednesday.

With the mid-summer sun shining and temperatures rising over 90 degrees, grueling fitness challenges late Wednesday morning included the "bleep test," "planking challenge" and a push up competition. Contestants then took a short break for lunch before competing in time trials on the track Wednesday afternoon at Nashville Motor Speedway. Virtual and skill challenges were completed Tuesday.

By the end of the day Wednesday, these six finalists proved they had the on-track ability, strength, stamina, media prowess and more to earn the right to move on to the International Race Camp in August.

Americans Agakhan, King, Lauro, Lynch, Skirda and Utley now join an elite group of 30 GT Academy finalists from around the world. These global finalists – with six competitors each from the U.S., Mexico, Turkey, North Africa and Australia – will take part in a week-long Race Camp competition held at the famous Silverstone Circuit.

Here, competitors will once again be tested on their strength, stamina, mental agility and on-track driving skills. Judges will look for pure talent, drive, passion, dedication and more to determine who will be the 2015 GT Academy Champion, Nissan's next professional racecar driver.

About GT Academy 2015
GT Academy is a collaboration between PlayStation and Nissan that uses the virtual world of the Gran Turismo6 game to unearth real-world racing talent. Now in its seventh year, GT Academy includes separate competitions for Europe (France, Italy, UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic), International group (Australia, Mexico, North Africa, Turkey and United States) and Asia (India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan).

From National Finals, the action moves onto the legendary Race Camp, where the competitors are put through their paces on track in Nissan sports cars under the watchful eyes of high profile judges and mentors. Winners from each competition will be invited to take part in the intensive Driver Development Program, where they have the opportunity to qualify for an international race license and race for Nissan professionally.

Previous winners of GT Academy are now regular racing drivers. In 2015, Jann Mardenborough (UK, winner in 2011) is racing in the World Endurance Championship for Nissan in the top LM P1 category and in GP3, a feeder series to Formula One, with the championship-winning Carlin team. Lucas Ordoñez (Spain, winner in 2008) will be racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year in the Nisan GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 entry, alongside Mardenborough. The 2014 Champions, Gaetan Paletou (Europe) and Ricardo Sanchez (International) are competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series with the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN.