Sony GT Academy 2012 PS3 Update: How & When to Unlock Prizes

52w ago - Sony Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has posted up a GT Academy 2012 PS3 update today which covers how and when to unlock prizes for competitors.

To quote: Welcome to week four of this year's GT Academy competition! By now you've probably learned the basic fundamentals of the racing line, variable high-speed cornering, continuous elevation changes, and multi-radius acceleration, all while trying to maintain the highest grip possible to maximize corner exit speed.

If you achieved a Gold Trophy in all five events within a round, you will unlock the GT Academy-spec Nissan used in the trials of that round. Prizes will be distributed one week after the online competition of GT Academy ends, which is on or after July 4th, 2012.

Here are the four cars you can unlock in Rounds 1 through 4:

• Round 1 - Nissan Leaf (GT Academy) '11
• Round 2 - Nissan Silvia spec-R AERO (GT Academy) '02
• Round 3 - Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II (GT Academy) '94
• Round 4 - Nissan 370Z (GT Academy) '08

Note: Each of the subsequent vehicle prizing will be unveiled as Round 5 and 6 are unlocked on May 28th and Round 7 and 8 on June 11th

Drivers who clear all eight rounds of the competition with a Bronze Trophy or better will receive the special "GT Academy 2012" racing gear - the head-turning GT Academy racing suit

You can claim your prizes (including the GT Academy racing suit) on or after July 4th, 2012. To add these items to your collection, start up Gran Turismo 5 or Gran Turismo 5 XL, select "GT Mode" on the main menu, select "Community and Gift", and your earned prizes will be shown on the right side of the screen. For a detailed description, please head to the official site here.

For now, be sure to learn as much as you can for each of the events as the final Round 8, Event 5 race is only a few short weeks away. Good luck!