BARCELONA, Spain – Hungarian esports racer Patrick Blazsan is on his way to the 2018 NISMO Festival for a once-in-a-lifetime experience after winning the Nissan GT Sport Cup European final in Barcelona.
Blazsan – known as TRL_Fuvaros on PlayStation Network – was one of 36 finalists who qualified for the event after impressive performances aboard a Nissan GT-R in the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Manufacturer Series.
An additional 12 gamers qualified for the Sunday event through the last-chance wildcard openings on Saturday. After four heats and two semi-finals, the 20-year-old Blazsan qualified third fastest for the esports final, which was staged over 12 laps at Fuji International Speedway – the same venue as this year's NISMO Festival.
He moved up to second place on lap two and then took over the lead on lap five when pole winner Mikail Hizal (Germany) made his pit stop. Blazsan pitted a lap later but rejoined in the lead, which he was able to hold until the checkered flag to win by 1.61 seconds.
Runner-up Hizal (TRL_LIGHTNING) also earned a trip to the NISMO Festival by being the No. 1 Nissan driver in the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Manufacturer Series. The duo will be joined by other regional winners on the trip, which will also include a visit to Polyphony Digital headquarters, the creators of Gran Turismo.
"I'm so happy because I really didn't expect that result," said Blazsan. "I'm looking forward to going to the NISMO Festival as I've never been to Japan before. The pressure in the race was huge, but I managed to get the win."
Hungarian esports racer Patrick Blazsan is your #NissanGTSportCup winner! He's headed to Japan for @Nissan #NISMOFest 2018 and a trip to Polyphony Digital headquarters – the creators of @thegranturismo.
— Nissan NISMO (@NISMO) October 2, 2018
➡️ https://t.co/Kw4Y76DP2L pic.twitter.com/SCL4441zEQ
NISMO Calendar
October 6-7
Supercars Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, Bathurst, NSW, Australia
October 14-14
Blancpain GT Series Asia, Ningbo, China
FIA World Endurance Championship, Fuji International Speedway, Japan
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA
Contact
Anna Teslik
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +33 7 7614 7286
ATeslik@nissan-europe.com
Paul Ryan
Global Motorsport Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +1 678 644 0404
paul@nismosupport.com
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