Four-time Grand Prix winner and 1999 championship runner-up Eddie Irvine has been named as head judge for GT Academy 2011’s Silverstone ‘Race Camp’. The competition will involve players taking to the race track, having been selected in accordance with results on PlayStation 3 game Gran Turismo 5.
Alongside Irvine, a selection of mentors including Vitantonio Liuzzi and Johnny Herbert, with the track action starting at the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend before continuing at Silverstone between the 13 and 16 June.
From the 90,000 hopefuls which entered the PS3 competition, the final 12 candidates hail from France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. They are now set to drive real-life Nissan performance cars, such as the 370Z and GT-R, and face a set of physical and mental contests.
“The popularity of GT Academy does not surprise me, given motorsport is one of the hardest sports to break into and there is such a worthy prize at stake,” says Irishman Irvine. “The competitors have already demonstrated their racing credentials on the Gran Turismo game, but it’s now going to be a massive challenge to see which one has what it takes to make the step up to be a real racing driver.
“We are looking to unveil a new real racing talent and this will be fully reflected in the toughness of the challenges and judging criteria put in place.”
The 2011 GT Academy Champion will immediately move into a comprehensive driver development programme before taking part in next January’s Dubai International 24 Hour race, complete with a full race-spec Nissan 370Z GT4 machine.
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