MOTORSPORT: Gran Turismo championship headed Down Under

Gran Turismo’s finest are headed for Australia.

The long-running gaming franchise has confirmed its Gran Turismo Championships will touch down in Sydney next month for the opening round of a new world tour.

Fifty racers from Australia, Europe, North and South America, Asia and New Zealand will converge on Sydney’s Luna Park for the FIA-certified event on February 15-16.

According to organisers, there will be two distinct events: “The Manufacturer Series, which pits 12 teams of three representing different manufacturers against each other, and the Nations Cup, an individual competition with 24 players representing their respective countries.”

Among the virtual racers will be Australian Cody Nikola Latkovski, who finished second in both events at the 2019 World Finals in Monaco recently, along with GT Academy winner Matt Simmons, who has since become a regular face in Nissan’s racing endeavours.

“The Gran Turismo World Tour Sydney event is the first of the 2020 season and will take place at the Big Top in Luna Park in front of a live audience and the TV cameras that will broadcast the spectacular racing around the world,” organisers said in a statement.

“Within one evening, the audience can be transported from watching formula cars racing around Interlagos in Brazil, to exotic concept cars on a street circuit in Tokyo or perfect recreations of Group 3 race cars on Bathurst’s Mount Panorama.”

Racers will compete before the live audience in racing seats on a stage equipped with the PlayStation PS4 Pro and Gran Turismo. The broadcast will also be broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook.

Free tickets for the Luna Park Sydney event are available here.