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Nissan Playstation GT Academy |
December 2008
 Johnny Herbert will join the winners of the Nissan Sony GT Academy Lars Schlomer and Lucas Ordonez in Dubai along with RJN Motorsport driver Alex Buncombe. Herbert, a past winner of the most famous 24-hour race at Le Mans, said: “My personal interest and eventual involvement in the whole idea was that it was something that had never been done before. It will be massively intriguing to see how two novices can transfer their virtual abilities into that of reality".
The two Nissan 350Z race cars that RJN will race in the Dubai 24 hours 2009 have been shipped and final preparations for the race are being completed. The driver line up for RJN Car 2 will be Carlos Tavares, Drivers Republic journalist Richard Meaden, Dubai local Mohammed Al Falasi and Rob Barff with a possible fifth driver yet to be announced.
 October 2008
The Nissan Sony GT Academy winners Lucas Ordonez and Lars Schlomer have now completed the licence upgrade programme which will enable them to compete in the 24 hours of Dubai in January 2009.
They both aquired the 12 signatures required to upgrade their racing licences from National B to International C in incredibly just 6 weekends of racing at UK national events, racing in two production Nissan 350Z's with the RJN Motorsport team.
Lars said “The first race we did in September at Cadwell Park was also the first time I had been to a motor race! I knew nothing. Now I have qualified for my international racing licence……..amazing. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped me. My life has changed so much. I have gone from driving on Playstation to real race driving.”
Lucas said “We have qualified for our international licence. Thank you to Nissan, Playstation, RJN Motorsport and everybody who has helped us! This is very special. It is hard work but I am having a fantastic time learning to drive these cars. Next week I will get some driver training to make me faster and soon I will drive the Nissan 350Z GT4 race car. Unbelievable………..I am starting to think about Dubai!”
Team principle Bob Neville commented “Many congratulations to Lars and Lucas. All their previous experience came together this weekend in their races at Snetterton. It was the biggest grid of cars they have raced against with 36 cars. They had to lap drivers, keep out of trouble and use some race craft. Both drivers have made remarkable progress since they started the GT Academy training programme. They now have to look forward to the Dubai 24hr race and get some testing done in the next stage of this unique project”
 
September 6/7
GT Academy winners Lars Schlomer and Lucas Ordonez began their intensive race training programme at Cadwell Park on Saturday 6th and Thruxton on Sunday 7th, both making an excellent start.
 
August 31st
GT Academy has found its winners
following a gruelling and emotional week-long international final at iconic British racetrack Silverstone. 28-year old Lars SchlÖmer, from Germany and 23-year old Lucas Ordóñez from Spain beat 20 other competitors from across Europe to be crowned the GT Academy champions. The pair now face a four-month intensive training programme with Nissan’s race team to earn their racing license and compete in the ultimate test of driving skill and stamina: the Dubai 24hr endurance race in January 2009.
August 2008 As the selection of the winners of the Sony Nissan GT Academy from each European country participating comes to a close, the final selection of two ultimate winners will begin at Silverstone in a few weeks.
PlayStation and Nissan have come together to create the ultimate competitive driving test - GT Academy. The eight-month, pan-European competition sees virtual and real-life racing merge to make the wildest dreams of two aspiring race drivers come true. The prize: firstly a race academy course at Silverstone to gain the basic racing licence followed by a four-month training programme to upgrade to an International racing licence, culminating in a real-life race driving a Nissan 350Z as part of the Nissan team at the 24H endurance race in Dubai in January 2009.
The finalists will be put through their paces at the Silverstone Circuit as they will have to show their all round fitness, mental stamina and coordination.
The two winners will immediately start an intensive course of racing, participating in UK races throughout 2008 in readiness for the 24 hours of Dubai in January 2009.
 July 11/12/13 Goodwood
RJN enjoyed a successful Goodwood event with
Nissan Executive Vice President Carlos Tavares taking the challenge of the hillclimbe at Goodwood Festival of Speed in the RJN Nissan 350Z GT2 race car looking the part in full GT Academy livery. Alex Buncombe also drove the car and set the third fastest time in class.
LONDON, March 28 RJN boss Bob Neville attended the European preview of Sony Playstation's newest version of race driving videogame Gran Turismo this week.
A national competition, a selection of real super cars and a mocked up "pit lane" in London greeted the European preview of Sony PlayStation's Red Ferraris, a yellow Lotus convertible and the newly unveiled Nissan GT-R were some of the 17 cars assembled in an underground car park in central London decorated to look like a pit lane and packed with gamers, models, a bar with staff dressed as pit crew and a DJ pumping out music.
Guests were invited to test out the latest version of the game in four arcade-style "cars" at the Thursday evening event.
RJN supplied the pit equipment which surrounded the Nissan GT-R.
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