Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) confirmed its participation in the upcoming Nissan GT Academy 2016, which will be launched later this year. This was announced during an exclusive screening of the Nissan GT Academy reality show, produced by NPI’s broadcast partner ABS-CBN, at the Bonifacio High Street Cinema.
A virtual-to-reality racing contest, the Nissan GT Academy arms aspiring race cars drivers a chance to fulfill their dream of participating in a professional international race.
“The Nissan GT Academy is Nissan’s way of democratizing motorsports, to make it more accessible to the general public.” said SJ Huh, NPI General Manager for Marketing “By doing this, we help fast-track the dreams of more potential Filipino racers to reach the international racing arena.”
The Nissan GT Academy was first introduced to the country in march 2015. Nissan GT Academy got an overwhelming 13,000 aspiring racers participate in over 20 live events held in key cities in the country within a four month period. Twenty players with the best race time in the game then advanced to compete in the National Finals, where they were subjected to physical, driving, media, and virtual challenges to determine the top six contenders.
Joward Policarpio, 2015 Nissan GT Academy Asia Champion
From the 20 finalists, Luis Cachero, Rafel Lesaguis, Terence Lallave, Joward Policaprio, Joel Agojo, and Daryl Brady were selected to join the Race Camp at the Silverstone Racing Circuit in the United Kingdom in August 2015.
The PH Top 6 then underwent a 9-day competition against finalists from Japan, Thailand, India, and Indonesia to determine one winner for the Nissan GT Academy Asia leg. Joward Policarpio defeated the rest of the finalists in a qualifying race and was named the first Nissan GT Academy Asia Champion.
“2015 was an excellent year for the first Nissan GT Academy in the Philippines, with Joward becomign the first Nissan GT Academy Asia champion. Not only is he the first Nissan GT Academy Asia champion, but he is the first Filipino to win the title.” said Huh “We hope to continue this strong performance, as we look forward to launching the second Nissan GT Academy in the Philippines later this year.”
