Sony’s Gran Turismo Academy, designed to take gamers and transform them into real-life racers, sure is working.
Two graduates — Wolfgang Reip (2012) and Florian Strauss (2013) — teamed up with a non-graduate, Katsumasa Chiyo, and together the three beat actual pro race drivers in a recent 12-hour event at Mount Panorama.
The trio drove the RJN Motorsport Nissan GTR-43, and on the pentultimate lap, overtook two cars to win the race.
It wasn’t all fun and frivolity; during the 12-hour event, a kangaroo made its way onto the track and was struck one of the cars.
Another Gran Turismo graduate, Brit Jann (2011), will be at the wheel of a Nissan GTR-LM for the Le Mans 24-hour in June, contracted to Red Bull’s F1 development programme.
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