GT Academy Silverstone

GTPlanet 's Famine is aanwezig op Silverstone als (first time) reporter.

Dit moet zo een top ervaring zijn voor die lui!

Well, as a last minute replacement and completely-baffled newbie amongst serious publications’ reporters (I count the Daily Star, Ireland Daily Star, Times, Mail, AutoWeek and the BBC, amongst others), I’m here at the GT Academy Boot Camp Media Day…

The day kicked off at Whittlebury Hall with a press conference for the 18 lucky (okay, skilled) drivers, with media in attendance, given by GT Academy judges Rob Barff, Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz (yes, really). The concept of GT Academy, for those of us unaware of it – to take a driver from the virtual world and put him in a race car in the real world – was explained by Johnny before a short video from the 4th judge, none other than Eddie Irvine, and another short video from GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez.

The format was explained by Johnny – eviction-style boot camp fun, whittling the field down to just 3 drivers over 5 days, who would then receive 2 months of intensive training before the final prize is given – a seat in a Nissan 370Z GT4 class racer!

Rob explained the day’s activities before springing a surprise 10 minute written test on the drivers, after which the throng relocated to Silverstone.

At this point the GT Academy finalists were given a number of warm-up laps in a number of Nissan 370Zs on Silverstone’s Stowe Circuit, with an on-board instructor, before going for an individual “superpole lap” – the results of which are yet to be revealed… Then back to the Experience Centre for the ever-so-vital medical and fitness tests.

A brief break for lunch preceded the “media” being split into two groups and thrown into the same 370Zs the finalists drove – one guided lap, followed by a number of instructed laps – and then onto a head-to-head autocross course in Nissan’s R35 GT-Rs. As is typical, I was last to go and with no-one to go head-to-head with, who should step in but GT Academy champion Lucas Ordoñez! With a time of 37.93s on the final run, GTPlanet’s credentials were established as fastest publication (oh yes, you read that right).

As things stand at the moment, the drivers and the media (myself excepted – the excitement of the 370Z hurt my hand) are at Milton Keynes’s Daytona karting circuit for a spell of endurance karting. Coming later on this evening will be a driver press-conference, during which the drivers will be subjected to a barrage of questions to determine their presence under fire…

Watch this space for more news from the Boot Camp and hopefully some pictures, if the internet here permits!

GTP_Racer_LP (Stijn) doet trouwens toch niet mee. Hij is ziek geworden voordat het event begon en heeft zich moeten afmelden

De eerste dag alleen al moet een ware uitputtingsslag geweest zijn, als ik zo links en rechts de reactie's lees. Er is nog niets bekend over hoe de deelnemers het gedaan hebben tijdens het schriftelijk examen, de fitness tests, rondje in een 370Z en persconferentie. Met de cart endurance race is het Benelux team 3e geworden! Way to go Jeroen!!! (ik weet niet wie de Belgische deelnemer is).



Vandaag wordt weer een spannende dag, waarna er maar liefst 10 deelnemers zullen afvallen.

Er is blijkbaar iemand in de plaats van Stijn gegaan voor België.
Benjamin Peron

op de GT Academy facebook staat nog een uitgebreid verslag van de eerste dag

Denur schrijft:

(ik weet niet wie de Belgische deelnemer is).


Stijn Wackenier (23) GT Academy Finale Belgie

Stijn was ziek de dag dat hij moest vertrekken.
Benjamin Peron (popolinho13) is nu in zijn plaats mogen gaan.