SILVERSTONE, UK – GT Academy hopefuls from around the world are locking in their spots for the Silverstone International Race Camp, including the first-ever female GT Academy finalist.
In last year's GT Academy competition in the Philippines, Elysse Menorca was supporting her boyfriend Francisco Adriano. For 2016, Elysse entered the competition and not only made the Top 20 final, but qualified for the top six and earned a trip to the UK to compete in the International Race Camp.
They are obviously the fastest "gamer-to-racer" couple from the region; Menorca's boyfriend also made the final six along with Jan Millard Lacuna, Richard Dean D. Jose, Mervin John Mallen, and Kim Jiger A. Chong.
The Australian final was staged last weekend at Warner Brother's Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Hopefuls have their sights set on following in the footsteps of last year's international winner Matt Simmons who earned a drive with Nissan in this year's Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.
In all national finals, it is not just your pure speed that earns you a trip to the UK. The finalists are put through a series of challenges including an army-style fitness test, vigorous gaming challenges on the GT Sport PlayStation game, media tests, and a motorkhana component. With points awarded across all challenges, the competition was whittled down to the top six.
The graduating Australians were Chris McIvor, Michael Pryor, Oscar Redfearn, Bradley Packham, Steve Danielsen and Keishi Ayikai.
Australian Supercar drivers Dale Wood and Todd Kelly were both on hand to mentor the finalists across the two days. Kelly considers GT Academy an unusual path into motorsport but concedes that after eight years, the gamer-to-racer program's results speak for themselves.
"I probably was skeptical, but have been proven wrong pretty quickly," said Kelly. "To see some of the guys we've had in our cars at Winton that have come through the program has blown me away. It's good to be in a position to help these guys extract the most amount of talent they have to offer. Whether it be by just telling them to be calm or relax, or whatever it might be, to make sure they get the most out of the opportunity."
The virtual racers now head to the GT Academy International Race Camp commencing on October 18 at the Silverstone Circuit. The eight-day event will push the gamers beyond anything they experienced in their local finals.
The final six from North Africa, Australia and the Philippines have been locked in with further competitions up next for Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand.
Meet your Australian Race Camp finalists! These six will represent 🇦🇺 at Silverstone next month. Well done 👏 pic.twitter.com/hmCqPZkZu9
— GT Academy (@GTAcademy) September 12, 2016
NISMO Calendar
September 17-18
FIA WEC, Circuit of The Americas, USA
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Nurburgring, Germany
Australian Supercars, Sandown 500, Melbourne, Australia
Pirelli World Challenge, Sonoma Raceway, USA
September 24-25
European Le Mans Series, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Nissan Micra Cup, Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Japanese Formula 3, Sugo, Japan
October 1-2
Blancpain GT Series Sprint Car, Barcelona, Spain
October 8-9
Super GT, Chang International Circuit, Thailand
Australian Supercars, Bathurst 1000, Mount Panorama, NSW, Australia
Pirelli World Challenge, Laguna Seca, Monterey, California, USA
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