Nissan GT Academy final for Movie World

The Nissan Playstation GT Academy is currently in its seventh year and has blooded a number of successful motor racing drivers in that time, all of whom emerged after merely clocked a strong lap time in the PlayStation Gran Turismo video game.

Sydney-based IT consultant Josh Muggleton came tantalisingly close to snaffling a million-dollar international racing contract at the UK's Silverstone race track in 2014, however, he finished in second place, meaning an Australian is yet to win an international GT Academy competition.

That could all change this year as the GT Academy's reputation and reach grows, particularly as the Australian final will be held at the Warner Bros Movie World theme park on the Gold Coast, allowing the general public to watch proceedings.

The 2014 final was held at Phillip Island but with organisers from Nissan and its motorsport arm, NISMO, thinking outside the box, Movie World was chosen for the 2015 GT Academy Australian finals.

In total 20 hopefuls will make it in the Australian final, with 10 already decided from the online qualifiers that wrapped up on June 16. The last 10 spots will be filled by the fastest gamers taking part in the 'live events' at Movie World, held between Wednesday, July 15 and Saturday, July 18.

The Australian finalists will be mentored by V8 Supercar champion an two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Rick Kelly, and the 20 contestants will be whittled down to just six individuals during the 2015 GT Academy Australian final, which will be held on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19.

While the final 20 will naturally be gifted video-gamers, it's unlikely they'll be in the stereotypical overweight, lazy, couch potato mould. That's because the Australian final will run contenders through the ringer, just like a professional racer. That means extreme fitness tests, media interview sessions and even on-track driving challenges in Nissan sports cars.

Six candidates will then score a return trip to the UK in August, to vie for a million-dollar motor racing contact with NISMO in the GT Academy International Race Camp. Once again it will take place at the Silverstone GP circuit in the UK, where the Aussie hopefuls will go up against teams from Turkey, Mexico, northern Africa and the United States.

The winner then goes through a Nissan Driver Development Programme, ahead of a factory drive with team NISMO at the 2016 Dubai 24 Hour sports car race.

We attended the final few days of the International Race Camp in the UK last year and the professional manner in which it's run and the seriousness with which it's treated delivers impressive results for the talent scouting competition.

The first ever GT Academy winner in 2008 was Lucas Ordoñez from Spain and, together with Jann Mardenborough from the UK, both have tasted success in varying sports car and open-wheel disciplines. Previous GT Academy winners Wolfgang Reip and Florian Strauss won the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour race in a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 race car.

Nissan Motorsport V8 Supercar driver and Australian GT Academy judge Rick Kelly had this to say about the global initiative: "Last year was the first year I was involved in GT Academy and it opened my eyes to what the prize really means and what's on offer.

"It's not just about a trip to Silverstone and the chance to drive some cars – there's a career as a professional racing driver up for grabs. The prize is huge.

"Motorsport is extremely difficult to get into at a professional level and if I was a youngster trying to establish myself, this is the route that I'd focus a lot of energy on.

“The 'live events' at Movie World are a massive opportunity to fast-track yourself to the Australian final. If you haven't been able to qualify online, then this is your last opportunity to get in the running. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you'll be able to spend the day at Movie World!"