5 Reasons Why Ambitious Petrolheads Should Enter GT Academy

Since 2009 Sony and Nissan have been collaborating on a scheme to pluck a top gamer from the halo franchise Gran Turismo and, after three months of training, shove them into a racing career. GT Academy 2014 kicks off on Monday April 21 in Gran Turismo 6, and with 12 gamers already plying their trade on the world's race tracks, here are five reasons why you should try out this time around.

This will be your office

2013's winners Miguel Faisca, Florian Strauss, Stanislav Aksenov and Nick McMillen had never even sat in a race car before GT Academy. All now class this RJN Motorsport Nissan Nismo GT-R GT3 as their office. It took three months of a punishing driver development program and a series of races in 370Zs - including a 24hr race - to get there though.

You'll be racing all over the world

In 2014, the graduates of GT Academy - Nismo Athletes - will race in the USA, Europe, Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They've driven in FIA GT, Formula 3, ADAC Nürburgring series, Super GT, the Blancpain Endurance Series and endurance races at Dubai, the 'Ring, Spa, Le Mans and Bathurst. Not bad for a bunch of gamer geeks.

You'll help develop ludicrous concept cars

Lucas Ordoñez was the first winner of GT Academy and beat the path for the rest to follow. In his time as a Nismo Athlete he's been part of the development process of the bonkers Juke-R and has driven the Deltawing Nissan to a demolition of the LMP establishment at Petit Le Mans.

This year he'll be at Le Mans for his fourth successive race (with two class podiums) to drive the Deltawing's electric cousin "ZEOD" along with 2012 winner Wolfgang Reip to be the first drivers ever to complete a racing lap of the 8.5 mile circuit without using a drop of petrol or diesel.

This guy will be your teammate

Alex Buncombe has been integral to the development of all the GT Academy winners, buddying up as codriver through British GT, FIA GT and bundles of 24hr races. He was even part of the reason why GT Academy was banned from British GT in 2013 - for being too fast. At the Monza round of the Blancpain Endurance Series last week he showed why, driving the Academy car past 18 bewildered professional GT racers in just over a lap.

You might end up in F1

Jann Mardenborough, Arden Motorsports | From GT Academy Facebook

2011's British winner Jann Mardenborough has taken a different path to the other graduates through open wheeled cars. Going from best rookie in the 2013 Toyota Racing Series to British F3 he's now taken up a seat at Arden International - the team owned by Red Bull's Christian Horner - in the GP3 series, exactly like Daniil Kvyat who now races for Toro Rosso.

In fact a good chunk of the F1 grid has come through GP3 - Kvyat, Jean-Eric Vergne, Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas all spent a season in GP3 before moving up to the big time. If Jann, like Daniil, wins the series there's a good chance we'll see him in F1 for 2015/6 - and he'd never sat in a race car before August 2011...