Round 1 of GT Academy, the ground-breaking competition that will turn one Gran Turismo 5 player into a professional race car driver, is now open!
If you haven’t heard about GT Academy, it’s an online competition within GT5 that takes the top 32 players in the United States, based on time trial events, to a national finals event where they will compete for one of 16 spots in the GT Academy boot camp. At the boot camp, the finalists’ strength, stamina, mental agility, and driving skills will be pushed to the limits and beyond. Only one champion will ultimately go on to train to become a professional race driver and compete in a real endurance race. This unique competition will be documented in a GT Academy reality show that will air on the SPEED channel and PlayStation Network.
Round 1 is now open and runs through January 23, 2011. To enter, register at the GT website, then compete in the three online GT Academy time trial events. Your best lap time for each track will be posted to the rankings. Keep practicing, and if you beat your previous best lap time, your new best lap time will be posted and possibly move you up in the rankings.
All players who enter and race will earn rewards just for participating. A piece of free exclusive digital content will be awarded each week for the five weeks of Round 1 to everyone who logs in and races GT Academy events. Content includes exclusive PS3 themes and an exclusive GT Academy racing suit for PlayStation HOME. Round 1 prizes will be awarded after the close of Round 1.
Prizes will also be awarded for the top 20 national leaders (combined lap time) as of the end of each of the five weeks during Round 1, ending on January 23, 2011. The top 20 will each receive a Gran Turismo poster, the top five will each receive a Logitech Driving Force GT steering controller (plus a poster for being in the top 20), and the number one player will receive a Playseat Revolution (Gran Turismo 5 Edition) racing seat (plus a Logitech Driving Force GT steering controller for being in the top 5 and a GT5 poster for being in the top 20). However, if you win one of the prizes, you will be ineligible to receive the same thing in later weeks. So even if the same person maintains that top spot through all five weeks, four other players will have a chance to win one of the weekly 1st place prizes.
At the end of Round 1, the top 128 players per region will each get a voucher for Gran Turismo (PSP) and move on to round 2. The top 16 winners per region at the end of Round 2 will each receive a Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition. And the top eight winners per region in Round 3 win seats at the GT Academy National Finals event for a chance at joining the GT Academy boot camp, where the grand prize winner will be determined. For more information about how the tournament works, visit the official GT Academy FAQ.
And with the arrival of GT Academy, Gran Turismo 5 has received a sizable update to add more content and improve the overall gameplay experience. Here are some highlights to look forward to:
- Seasonal Events
The Seasonal Events area has been added to the main GT Life screen. From here you can participate in official online events that will be open for a limited time only. Each event has specific entry and race conditions, and completing events earns you rewards and experience points. Compete here to see how you stack up to the rest of the world on the global leaderboards in the time trials and drift trial events. - Online Race Rewards and Experience
When you complete a race in the [Open Lobby] or [My Lounge], you will now gain rewards and experience.
Even if you are focused more on playing online, you’ll still be able to gain rewards and levels that you need to progress in [GT Life]. - Hot Car Dealer
A new specialized dealership has also been added to the main GT Life screen, making it much easier to find popular and rare used cars compared to the standard Used Car Dealer. - Distance Driven and Number of Wins in Online Races
Your total distance driven online, and the number of wins you achieve in Open Lobby and My Lounge will now add to your Profile and Garage stats. - Improved Rewards for Playing
Earn increased rewards for winning races in both A-Spec and B-Spec mode through the end of January only. Now’s the perfect chance to rack up points, build up your garage, and get ahead in the game.
See you online in Gran Turismo 5!
Can you please pass the following along to PD boss Kazunori Yamauchi…
-GT5 Updates file separate from GT5 Install file.
-GT5 Buggatti Veyron, Suzuki E Dirt Car to Premium Model Upgrade.
-GT5Prologue cars transfer feature to GT5.
-Remove 50 car GT PSP transfer to GT5 limit.
-Color number feature remove.
-Car Body Aero Modification keep all mods without having to re-buy.
-GT5 Online quick race option.
-GT5 Save file Time Played show rather than “Days”.
-Short cut to all major option top of game screen.
I’m having trouble getting close to the first trail time record. wonder how he got it cause i and not doing well. 1:10 is my time don’t think I can do better.
Also,
-feature which will let you comment on a car u own. Since there are over 1000 plus cars in this game its hard to remember which cars you won from which event.
-Have a feature where cars you win from events are specially marked in your garage indicating event details too.
-Car wishlist option where a car that is in your wishlist will glow when it becomes available in the used cars or online cars market.
Please its important that you pass the message along. I even signed up for and tried to twitter message Kaz Y by using google translate and I hope it worked.
nice idea, but I can’t access the gt% website
@55 GT5 website been up and running a few days now. And, right now its still up
https://us.gran-turismo.com/us/gt5/user/
Hot Car Dealer or “Online” Car Dealer (?_?)
so ppl who arent from the US dont get a chance to get the GT5 dynamic theme at all?
Is there a website where we can see the rankings of the GT Academy races?
Already got the game for myself, the week of its launch…
Now, to get a PS3… XD Thanks PD for making this game the sole reason on my hunt to get a PS3!
is it possible to separate those who use dual shock controller and racing wheel?
We have started a new site for GT5 gamers.
GTGAMER.NET
The site is full of rich features such as:
** Video Gallery
** Upload your videos
** Photo Gallerys
** Upload you Photos
** Forums
** News feed right from GT5
One of the nicest features is Gran-turismo.com is embedded right in the site.
So you never have to leave your community site to check your stats online!!
I’m I missing something? Or did they remove the enable personal music folder with the latest update? Not able to play my own music now. License tests much better now thou.
As an old wind passer I am not up on all the online stuff and perhaps I could take the time to read ALL OF THE MANUAL but I do have a couple of beefs. Miss some of the features and tracks, HATE the way bonus cars get added to a delivery trailer when into my garage, thank you very much, was just fine before. I only have 2 car classes, the drivers and the it’s for saler’s. Once you have spent 200-300000 credits on a car I believe it is now a premium car as well. Love the game play, the driving. Some of the rest is boring because it takes so long to get into driving. You removed my quick cash cows and got rid of my easy money tracks. No more load up the SX4 prototype and whip El Cap. for a Minolta 88, again and again. O’well, Cheers anyway.