Nissan and GT5 join forces for third GT Academy

Nissan and Sony are to join forces to run a third instalment of the GT Academy in 2011; uniting virtual and real racing experiences.

The prize is certainly the real deal. One lucky winner will get the chance to become a certified racing driver, with places at the GT Academy Race Camp available to the highest-placed virtual racers who then go on to play for a fully-supported drive in a Nissan 370Z GT4 racecar in the gruelling Dubai 24 Hour International race.

GT Academy will be played out on the Gran Turismo 5 driving game on PlayStation 3, which has sold over three million copies to virual racers in Europe alone, since launching in November 2010.

Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of the Gran Turismo games and president of Polyphony Digital, said the GT Academy programme perfectly illustrates their ambition to unite virtual racing with the real thing.

He continued: "I am sure that most people with an interest in motorsport have dreamt about having a go for real. The competition has already made that dream a reality for the previous two winners, so it is well worth entering - even if it is only your friends you want to beat!"

This month, Nissan and Nissan Motorsports International - NISMO - announced their 2011 global motorsports programme, which includes full-bore R35 Nissan GTRs in Super GT and the FIA GT1 World Championship.