Matt Simmons talks about how Gran Turismo is changing the world of professional driving

MATT Simmons has gone from courier to professional race car driver all thanks to Gran Turismo. And you can too.

AS AN eight-year-old, Matt Simmons sat in front of his television playing the very first game in the Gran Turismo franchise on his PlayStation.

Fast forward to present day and the former Australia Post courier has completed his first race in the seat of Nissan’s GT-R NISMO GT3 car in the 2016 Blancpain Endurance series.

The 26-year-old Brisbane local shot to stardom after being crowned the winner of the 2015 GT Academy competition — an international virtual-to-reality contest allowing the best Gran Turismo players to compete for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a real-life professional race car driver.

After months of training, Simmons most recently successfully completed the Blancpain Endurance race at Monza, which was a memorable experience for the ambitious driver.

“It was incredible to be at Monza, it has a lot of heritage and was slightly overwhelming,” he told news.com.au.

“I was able to finish and bring the car home for the team, which is something I will always remember.”

With the experience of Monza under his belt, Simmons is confident the team will be able finish on the podium.

“Our next race in France lasts for six hours, so each driver will get twice as long in the seat,” he said.

“The race goes into the night, which will add another element along with the heat, but I think we will be able to finish ahead of our competition.”

In preparation for the races, Simmons had been using Gran Turismo in a simulator to get practice ahead of the forthcoming events.

“It is such a helpful leaning tool because any laps you can do with the simulator helps with focus and consistency. I can pick up on little things that I can put into practice with the real car,” he said.

“The simulator also helps me driving under pressure because it’s so realistic. When I am on the actual track it can be stressful, but I know what I am doing and making calculated risks to make sure I am brining the car home safely.”

In between races, Simmons has taken time to help promote Gran Turismo Sport, which will be released later this year.

The driver said the game was going to instrumental in furthering his career and that of other drivers looking to follow in his footsteps.

“The game is very realistic with great attention to the physics. The game will help me gain more feedback on my driving,” he said.

“The experience is really close to the Nissan GT-R and you can feel where the hard parts are in the car, feel how it breaks and the weight of the vehicle.

“It’s only 50 per cent complete, but it’s already feeling really good and raising the bar for a whole new generation of gamers.”

Simmons said in addition to the stellar gameplay, Gran Turismo Sport will launching the FIA Championship.

“I will be excited to see how that will develop when it starts next year as it’s a new channel for gamers to be able to make the transition into real-life racing,” he said.

“Today’s launch really shows the evolution of gaming and e-sports.”

The game is available to pre-order now from both the PlayStation Store and retailers across Australia.

Originally published as Matt Simmons talks about how Gran Turismo is changing the world of professional driving