34w ago - Sony Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has shared a preview video below today announcing that GT Academy 2012 is set to debut on Spike TV this November 1st.

To quote: Nissan GT Academy is back for a second season, seeking to determine which of America's best Gran Turismo players has what it takes to become a professional racing driver.

The first of the six-part episode will air on Spike TV beginning Thursday, November 1st at 11:30pm Pacific Time.

The remaining episodes will air at the same time each Thursday night and will be available on the Nissan YouTube channel the following Monday. GT Academy will also be screened on MTV2, one week after the original airdate on SPIKE TV. For a preview, visit GTAcademy.com.

In July, after three months of online competition, the top 32 out of 400,000 registered Gran Turismo online gamers met at Comic-Con in San Diego to determine the 16 finalists for GT Academy 2012.





After two days of virtual racing competition on identical gaming...

53w ago - Sony Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has unveiled the final round and registration information for GT Academy 2012 today.

To quote: It's hard to believe, but the online competition of GT Academy 2012 is quickly coming to a close.

Since May 1st, over 900,000 competitors have driven more than 120,000,000 miles and reattempted 125,000,000 times for their chance to become this year's GT Academy Champion.

If you still haven't started, its not too late, as GT Academy 2012 is still available for free through the PlayStation Store until the end of the competition on June 24th.

With just two weeks left on the clock, the long awaited Rounds 7 and 8 have finally opened, completing the eight-round training program for this year's GT Academy. For those that's been keeping close tabs on the rumor mill, the infamous "Twin Ring Motegi East Short Course" is making it's Gran Turismo debut as the final Round 8, Event 5 - Time Trial race.

For the next two weeks, you must take everything you have learned from the eight-round training program and put it on the line for a top lap time. Remember, this event is only open from June 11, 2012 to June 24, 2012, so make it count!

Only the fastest lap times will...

56w 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...

57w ago - Sony Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has announced that GT Academy 2012 fans can get get PS3 tips from the US Champion today!

To quote: Attention GT Academy competitors: we are now in the third week of the 2012 season, and the competition is heating up.

Since May 1st, nearly 600,000 competitors have driven more than 51,000 miles and reattempted 52,000 times for their chance to become this year's GT Academy Champion.

As you may already know, Round 3 and 4 became available this week - offering faster and more advanced technical driving challenges to prepare you for the final eighth round starting in June.

To give you a leg up on the competition, TwitchTV will be doing a live webcast with the first US GT Academy Champion Bryan Heitkotter today at 6pm Pacific Time.

Be sure not to miss this as Bryan will be providing some inside tips for each of the round challenges and his predictions for this year's winner.

Here's a quick reminder for each of the challenges from Round 1-4:

Round 1: Nissan Leaf (Current Leaderboards)

• Simple Right-Hand Corner
• Simple Left-Hand Corner
• Simple Series of Corners

59w ago - Sony Associate Product Manager Ken Chan has announced that GT Academy 2012 officially begins on PlayStation Store today alongside a Season 2 promo video below.

To quote: It's the moment aspiring race drivers have been waiting for: GT Academy 2012 is available now! If you think you have what it takes, go to PlayStation Store and download the free demo of GT Academy 2012 right now.

That's right - you don't need to have a copy of Gran Turismo to play and compete!

This national competition, designed to turn the best Gran Tursimo players into real-life race drivers, welcomes players of all experience levels. Each participant will compete in a series of virtual trials, piloting Nissan cars, over an eight-week period in 40 different events.

Each round features five events that players can retry as many times as they want. Only the fastest lap times will be recorded and ranked. Rounds 1 and 2 are the first set of trials to open, and Polyphony Digital will release subsequent rounds every two weeks.





Here's a list of rounds and when they will be available:

Round 1 and 2 (Registration not required):
5/1 (Tue) to 6/24 (Sun)

Round 3 and 4 (Registration not required):