Australian Nissan GT Academy finalists ready to take on the world in Silverstone

BEATING thousands of video gamers, these six aspiring drivers could be Australia’s next international motorsport champions. But can a video gamer really compete against the big guns?

For the 28 competitors, racing one of those four V8 Supercars would be a dream come true.

IF YOU told someone 20 years ago that a car company was turning video gamers into real racing car drivers they would laugh in your face. But for 28 Aussie hopefuls, that’s exactly what they were hoping to happen at the Australian Nissan GT Academy finals over the weekend.

THE MOST INNOVATIVE PROGRAM IN MOTORSPORT

The Australian finals started at Nissan Motorsport HQ in Melbourne on Friday, where the finalists battled for glory by playing PlayStation 3’s Gran Turismo, competing in fitness and media challenges and demonstrated their ability to actually drive a car.

The gaming challenge was staged on the Nissan V8 Supercar preparation floor, with all four cars sitting across from the potential racers which meant they were literally staring at their dreams as they fought for them.

“It added motivation seeing the cars just there,” finalist Bathurst born Dylan Gulson, 22, told news.com.au.

“Walking in and seeing them just made me want this, to be a part of this so much more.”

No pain, no gain.

Contestants, like Mr Gulson, were thrown the keys to a Nissan 370Z at Phillip Island where V8 Supercar driver Todd Kelly and racing driver Samantha Reid had a keen eye watching for natural talent to crown as one of six winners.

“It was good having her [Reid] in the car to help with entry speeds and driving lines, especially when I hadn’t ever raced on Phillip Island before,” said Mr Gulson who eventually walked out as a winner.

Along with Dylan Gulson, the six finalists included Joshua Muggleton, Peter Read, Benjamin Smith, Marcello Rivera, and Luca Giacomin all finished the weekend victorious, winning a chance to fulfil their dreams at the home of Formula One in Silverstone, UK.

The guys will fly out next month to compete in the international GT Academy finals against contestants from all around the world. Similar to the Aussie finals, there will be more gaming, fitness, media and driving challenges but these ones will be more extreme than ever.

All the blood, sweat and tears will be worth it though for the winner, as that person will walk away with a seat in Nissan’s entry at the 2015 Dubai 24 Hour sports car race, and an opportunity to join Nissan’s international race car driving roster.

GT Academy graduates have been taking the motorsport world by storm.

“You just have to look at [Lucas] Ordonez’s CV, it would make any of these [Bathurst 12 Hour] drivers green — two podiums in Le Mans, winner of Nurburgring 24-hour, GT4 champion,” said GT Academy founder Bob Neville about his original GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez.

If that’s not enough proof, the GT Academy team was even banned from driving in the British GT Championship for being too quick.

For Dylan Gulson who is currently studying journalism at Charles Sturt University in western NSW, winning the GT Academy would mean putting all that aside and following his dreams.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do was something that involved motor racing, so to have this opportunity could be the start of something big and it’s a dream come true.”

Winners are grinners. Dylan Gulson (second from the right) and his fellow Aussie finalists.