NISMO PlayStation® GT Academy 2015 International Race Camp: Day 3

SILVERSTONE, UK – After a late finish to GT Ninja last night and an early rise today, not too dissimilar to the amount of sleep a driver would face during a 24 hour endurance race, the competitors were greeted by a double elimination – two contestants from each territory would go home immediately.

Rob Barff, the head judge, accompanied by each of the territory mentors, had the gruelling job of breaking the news that the racing hopefuls had been dreading from Day 1. One by one, the teams experienced the same emotions of elation, relief and disappointment. The two North African evictees appeared hardest hit by the announcement, breaking down in tears and needing to be consoled by their mentor Tamer Bashir.

“At this stage it’s not life changing, but no one wants to go home first,” said Barff. “It gets a lot harder from here.”

For the 20 finalists that would continue to pursue their dream of becoming a professional race driver, there was barely time to say goodbye to their newly made friends before they were whisked away to Kendrew Barracks, an airfield formerly known as RAF Cottesmore. Here they would compete within their territories in a head to head gymkhana knockout competition. The two winners would be safe, while the losing duo would scrap it out in a final elimination race. The loser of that race would go home.

Mexico were the first to put the pedal to the metal. After some close fought battles, three competitors came out on top and will now progress to Day 4 of GT Academy. This was replicated by North Africa who went second. Turkey, the third territory to take on the army-themed gymkhana course that was strewn with oil barrels and army vehicles, encountered a little more excitement. Fatih Demircan, who won his head to head, was disqualified for “navigational issues.” However, he later redeemed himself by winning the elimination race by just half a car’s length in a thrilling clash.

Team USA experienced similar action as Max King, the 19-year-old from New Jersey “overdrove” in the first race and consequently lost out to Ryan Lynch. However, he too made amends in the elimination fight. Australia’s battles didn’t quite live up the thrill of the previous two territories and ended in a clipped oil barrel deciding the fate of the victim in the elimination race.

We end Day 3 by saying goodbye to 15 Gran Turismo® gamers who fought so valiantly for the GT Academy International crown. The other 15 will stay with us to fight another day.

David Quiroga, Mexico competitor
“This morning was hard. They told us to get our bags and said two of you are going back home. Rob told me I did good, but I was not fast enough and I thought, ‘Uh oh. Is it going to be me?’ Then in the gymkhana, I had a mistake on the start and missed second gear. That mistake cost me the race. I told myself to relax for the elimination race, got a great start and won, so I am happy to still be in GT Academy.”

Rick Kelly, Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercars racer and mentor to Team Australia
“This is a chance of a lifetime. They’ve all worked so hard to come over to Silverstone, so to have everything on the line and be eliminated this morning was tough. Gymkhana is not easy, and having seen two of your teammates shipped back to Australia earlier, they knew one small error could mean the same thing for them. There was a lot of pressure today, but I’m glad they all attacked it the way they did.”

THE COMPETITORS