NISSAN GT ACADEMY IS BACK THIS 2016

After a successful first run, Nissan Philippines is bringing back GT Academy to find the next great Filipino professional racing driver.

Nissan GT Academy is a first-of-its-kind competition that pits the world’s best Gran Turismo players in a race for the ultimate dream — race as a professional in the Dubai 24 Hours race.

Manila Philippines, June 30, 2016 - Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) formally launches the second season of the Nissan GT Academy Philippines. Brings back Innovation that Excites to the Philippine Motorsports.

How about going to Silverstone race camp to represent Philippines to race among other countries? Only six lucky contestants from each territory would progress from the National Finals to make the long flight to the Silverstone Circuit in the UK.

As far as i know Philippines is the first ever Champion of Nissan GT Academy from last year 2015, we hold the throne and i know and i hope we will still carry on the throne for this year 2016.

Anybody can join from small, tall, young, old, male, female, even your background doesn't matter at all as long as you're 18 years of age, you know how to drive, you got a drivers license and a Philippine Passport..

Last years finalist and the first ever Nissan GT Academy Champion Jose Gerard Policarpio

Joward Policarpio was crowned the grand winner and became the first Filipino Nissan GT Academy Asia Champion for 2015.

A virtual-to-reality racing competition, the Nissan GT Academy gives aspiring race cars drivers a chance to fulfill their dream of participating in a professional international race.

The different challenges of the contestant who will make it to the finals

First launched locally in March 2015, the Nissan GT Academy saw over 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.

WHAT IS THE CONTEST?

Nissan GT Academy takes six (6) skilled Gran Turismo Players and gives them a chance to become professional racers in five stages.

First Gear: The Recruitment (June 30-August 21, 2016)
Thousands of gamers will be narrowed down to the top 20 Players who achieve the best time during the LIVE EVENTS. The top 20 players will be invited to compete in the National Finals.

Second Gear: National Finals (September 20-26, 2016)
The top 20 Players from the Live Events, will be trimmed down to the top 6 Filipino Players based on their performance during challenges and tests.  The top 6 players who qualify for the next round will go bumper-to-bumper with the best Gran Turismo drivers from various countries during the Race Camp Week.

Third Gear: The Race Camp Week (October 21-30, 2016)
The top 6 will go bumper-to-bumper with the best Gran Turismo drivers from Thailand, Indonesia, North Africa, Mexico and Australia. Their strength, stamina, mental agility and driving skills will be tested at the Silverstone Racing Circuit in UK.

Fourth Gear: Driver Development Program
The emerging GT Academy Champion will undergo a rigorous training under the wing of professional coaches and racers at the Silverstone Racing Circuit in UK. Here, they will get a chance to prove they have what it takes to become a professional racing driver and acquire a slot in the Nissan team for the Dubai 24 Hour Race.

"The Nissan GT Academy is Nissan's way of democratizing motorsports, to make it more accessible to the general public. By doing this, we help fast-track the dreams of more potential Filipino racers to reach the international racing arena." ~SJ Huh, NPI General Manager for Marketing 

HOW TO JOIN?
To join, Players must participate in the Live Events.

1. Various publicly accessible events will take place July 1 to August 31, 2016  (the “Entry Period”), allowing members of the public to participate in live gaming competitions (each a “Live Event”) in order to qualify for the National Finals.
2. At each Live Event, Players will be invited to take part in a virtual race on Gran Turismo 7 (the “Game”) using Nissan gaming pods. Players will run five (5) laps or five minutes (whichever comes first) on the Tokyo Expressway (the “Track”) using a Nissan GT-R (the “Car”). Their fastest lap time will be recorded. 
3. Players cannot change nor customize the Track and the Car, and all player settings will be set to default.
4. The twenty (20) Players who achieve the best performances during the Live Events (also “Qualifying Players”) will be invited to compete at the National Finals.
5. NPI reserves the right to disqualify Players for unsportsmanlike conduct at anytime during the course of the competition.  Players who are caught cheating by any means, including cutting corners and exploiting glitches or any other unintended functionality in the Live Event, will be disqualified.
6. The decision of Nissan and/or that of the judge(s), as the case may be is/are final and no appeal thereof may be made.      

Adding excitement and edge to an already excellent tournament, NPI revealed that the new Sony Playstation-4-exclusive Gran Turismo Sport would be playable for the first time during live recruitment events of the 2016 Nissan GT Academy. Nissan, in partnership with Polyphony Digital, introduced the upgraded racing video game to the Philippines, and other participating countries, ahead of it;s official release tot he rest of the world in November.

Lucas Ordonez, the inaugural winner of the 2008 Nissan Playstation GT Academy in Europe.

"Back then, I was just studying for my MBA. When I saw an ad for a new competition called 'GT Academy', I knew I had to join and take this shot to be the racing driver I dreamed to be. Now, here I am racing on every possible tournament. It felt great to have taken that move. I hope Filipinos will grab this opportunity, too." ~Lucas Ordonez, The Inaugural Winner of the 2008 Nissan Playstation GT Academy in Europe.

Winning in 2008, Ordonez has emerged as one of the leading contenders in racing competitions around the globe. Now, he is an inspiration for all gamers and aspiring racers looking to get their big break in the new season of Nissan GT Academy.

WHO ARE QUALIFIED TO JOIN?
GT Academy 2016 is open to citizen or dual citizens of the Philippines who fulfil the entry criteria described below, except employees, agents, contractors or consultants of Nissan Philippines, Inc., TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, Omnicom Media Group, Adspin Advertising and A+B Expedio, their families, subsidiaries, affiliates and associated companies, and anyone professionally connected with the competition.

In order to qualify, Players must:

1. be aged 18 years or over on the date of the National Finals. Participants of the Live Events below 18 years of age will not qualify for the National Finals.
2. hold a valid Philippine passport issued by the appropriate government agencies, embassies or consular office (if issued abroad), and be capable of obtaining the appropriate visa to enter the country hosting the Race Camp Prize;
3. hold a Non-Proffesional or Professional valid Driver’s license with Restriction Codes either 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, issued by the Land Transportation Office in the Philippines enabling the Player to validly operate and drive a four (4) wheel vehicle;
4. have not been convicted of any criminal offence or is the subject of or a part to a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding as a party litigant;
5. be in good general health, without any condition, sickness or disability that would limit the Entrant’s ability to operate and drive a four (4) wheel vehicle and should be able to comply with Motor Sports Associations (“MSA”) medical requirements detailed in section 9, 10 and 11 of the MSA 2016 License Notes, the newest version of which can be found at https://www.msauk.org/assets/2016competitionlicencenotes.pdf.
6. not have an existing competition driving contract with any motor sports team, body, agent or management company that conflicts with his/her ability to accept the Race Camp Prize;
7. not previously held a National A or superior MSA license or equivalent in another Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) recognised National Sporting Authority (NSA) or internationally or locally recognised motorsport body;
8. not have competed in any form of 4 wheeled motorsport at a provincial, city or national championship level for more than one full season (NPI reserves the right to judge what classifies as provincial, city or national level motorsport); and
9. not have previously or concurrently competed at the GT Academy Race Camp stage (or equivalent or similar stages) in any previous GT Academy competition or GT Academy competition held in different countries.

By entering the Nissan GT Academy 2016 season, each Player promises he/she fulfils the above entry requirements. Nissan reserves the right to verify the eligibility of Players at any time during the Competition or the Race Camp, which shall include but is not limited to requesting copies of passports, Driver’s licenses, government issued IDs, competent proof of identity and proof of residence or nationality and requesting the Player undergo a medical examination.

Failure to comply or pass any verification procedure undertaken by NPI will result in the immediate disqualification of the Player from the Competition and/or forfeiture of the Race Camp Prize. In the event of any dispute concerning the eligibility of the Player to participate in any stage of the Competition, NPI decision shall be final and no appeal thereof may be made.

Players who previously participated in the Race Camp Prize of previous’ year’s Competition(s) may still participate in the Live Events but shall not be eligible to win the Race Camp Prize even if their performance qualifies them among the top twenty.

Ramesh Narasimhan, NPI President and Managing Director

"Through this virtual-to-reality racing competition, we look forward to giving ore opportunities for Filipino gamers to realize their dream of becoming professional race car drivers. Last year, the Philippine team competed against other racers in other countries and came out on top. Continuing the competition's success, we open season 2 with Lucas Ordonez in hopes of motivating the best Filipino talents to enter the competition and make the country the breeding ground for outstanding racing drivers." ~Ramesh Narasimhan, NPI President and Managing Director

WHEN IS THE ENTRY PERIOD?

Live events are scheduled to be held but not limited to the following dates:

• July 17-23, 2016 – SM Bacolod, 10AM-10PM
• July 19-25, 2016 – SM Ecoland Davao, 10AM-10PM
• July 28-August 3, 2016 – SM Sta. Rosa, 10AM-10PM

 With Mr. SJ Huh

 With Mr. Ramesh Narasimhan and Lucas Ordonez

 With Lucas Ordonez

THE PRIZE
THE NATIONAL FINALS

1. All Qualifying Players will be contacted by NPI via SMS, call, email and postal mail through the contact details submitted by the Player at the time of entry to a Live Event, as soon as practicable after the end of the Entry Period, and shall be invited to take part in the National Finals.
2. Each Qualifying Player will receive an SMS, call, email or postal mail informing them of their eligibility to join the National Finals and they must claim their place in the National Finals by an SMS, call, email or postal mail within five (5) days of the date the notification is sent by NPI, or they will cease to be a Qualifying Player. Nissan will inform Players if they fail to claim his/her place in the National Finals within the relevant deadline.
3. Each qualifying player must submit their passport and NBI clearance to Nissan five (5) days before the National Finals to ensure that all qualifying players will have the capacity to participate in the Race Camp Week. Failure to submit the aforementioned requirements will lead to the Qualifying Player’s disqualification in concurrence with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
4. In the event that the Qualifying Player no longer wants to continue his/her participation in the Competition, or fails to claim his/her place in the National Finals within the relevant deadline, or is disqualified from the Competition in accordance with these Terms or for failure to comply with these Terms, they will cease to be a Qualifying Player and Nissan, at its sole discretion, will select a substitute Player to become a Qualifying Player. The substitute Player shall be chosen from those pool of Players who achieved the next best performance in the Live Events; and Nissan shall repeat this process until the number of Entrants required to participate in the National Finals is reached.
5. National Finals will be an event that will take place in a location, date and time  to be identified by NPI and shared to the Qualifying Players by email at least ten (10) days before the National Finals take place.  It is intended that the National Finals will take place during September 20-26, 2016, at the CCP Parking Lot; however, NPI reserves the right to select any date and venue for the National Finals. NPI will provide overnight accommodations for Qualifying Players if the National Finals takes place over more than one (1) day.  Qualifying Entrants will otherwise be responsible for any expenses incurred in attending the National Finals (e.g. travel and food expenses).
6. Prior to the start of the National Finals, Qualifying Players may be invited to provide videos that may be used in any GT Academy Program.  Each Qualifying Player grants NPI, a worldwide non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use such videos, regardless of how they are provided, for promotional purposes and for all the purposes related to the Nissan GT Academy 2016 and/or the Gran Turismo series of games, in perpetuity, across all media including any online platforms under Nissan’s control.  Such videos must not contain any pornography, nudity, or sexually explicit imagery; abusive, offensive or hateful imagery or language; harassing or defamatory content; content that compromises the privacy or safety of the Qualifying Player or others; content that demeans a particular gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, ethnicity or nationality; violent or dangerous behaviour; and/or spam, advertising or other commercial activities.
7. All Players will be required to complete a medical questionnaire and shall be required to sign a “Participation Agreement”, and return such signed Participation Agreement to Nissan Philippines, Inc. NPI reserves the right to disqualify any Playing who fails to comply with this requirement at any stage of the Competition, or who, NPI reasonably considers (based on the contents of the medical questionnaire), has a physical or mental condition which would make them unsuitable to participate in any part of the Competition or could prevent the Player from holding a competition licence for motor sports.
8. A player’s failure to disclose any incapacity (whether physical or legal), medical condition, and/or disability that prevents the Player from holding a race license may result in NPI seeking reimbursement for monies spent on the Player that enable the Player to take part in the competition.
9. During the National Finals, Qualifying Players may be required to compete in various virtual and “real-world” challenges to test their skills and abilities, and undergo assessments which may include mental challenges and medical and physical assessments. Qualifying Players may be eliminated at any stage in the National Finals on the basis of their performance in, or the results of, any of these challenges or assessments. Qualifying Players will be scored and assessed throughout the process.
10. NPI will be responsible for supplying all relevant equipment at the National Finals.
11. Six (6) winners from the Philippines will be selected from Qualifying Players participating in the National Finals. The winners shall be those who are judged to have displayed the best performance in the challenges and assessments undertaken during the Territory Final (each a “Territory Final Winner”).
12. In the event of any dispute concerning the eligibility of any Territory Final Winners, NPI’s and/or the judge’s decision (as the case may be) is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

THE RACE CAMP WEEK

1. GT Academy 2016 is held simultaneously in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, North Africa, Mexico and Australia during the Entry Period (each called a “Territorial Competition”)
2. The National Finals Winners from  the Philippines will be notified by NPI via SMS, call, email or postal mail provided by them in the Participation Agreement, as soon as practicable after all Territorial Competition have taken place, and will be invited to take part in the Race Camp (which may be up to 10 days in duration), together with winners from other Territorial Competition.  It is intended that the GT Academy Race Camp will take place at Silverstone England, UK in October 2016. However NPI reserves the right to select any other venue, date and time at its sole discretion.
3. Philippine National Finals Winners will be informed of the date, time and venue of the Race Camp at least ten (10) days before the Race Camp takes place.
4. Philippine National Finals Winners will receive an SMS, call, email, or postal mail confirming their eligibility to the Race Camp Week and must claim their place and confirm their participation by SMS, call, email, or postal mail  within five (5) days from the date the notification is sent to them by NPI or they will cease to be a Philippine Nationals Finals Winner.
5. In the event that a Philippine National Finals Winner does not wish to continue participating in the Competition, or fails to claim their place and confirm their participation in the Race Camp within the relevant deadline, or is disqualified from the Competition in accordance with these Terms or for failure to comply with these Terms, NPI, may at its discretion, select a substitute Qualifying Player to become a Philippine National Finals Winner. Such substitute Qualifying Player should have participated in the Philippine National Finals and achieved the next best overall performance in the challenges and assessments in the Philippine National Finals.  Nissan shall repeat this process until the number of Players required to participate in the Race Camp is reached.
6. The following shall be arranged for each Philippine National Finals Winner:

       1. Economy class flight from Manila to the nearest Race Camp start location, and back to Manila,
           2. assistance and cost of getting the appropriate visa to the country hosting the Race Camp
           3. transfers to and from the Race Camp start and end locations to and from the relevant airport, train or coach station (as the case may be
           4.) on site accommodation at the Race Camp
           5. meals and refreshments during the Race Camp.

Philippine National Final Winners are responsible for any expenses they incur in attending the Race Camp, which are not included and specified in Rule 6.

Philippine National Finals Winners shall be responsible for such costs for their transportation to and from their homes and the international airport in the Philippines.  Philippine National Finals Winners are strongly recommended to secure up-to-date health card and travel insurance at the Philippine National Final Winner’s own cost.

During the Race Camp, Philippine National Finals Winners will:
receive training from Octane Junkes, Ltd., (or another comparable motor racing training provider) and their agents; compete in a series of real driving events against other Philippine Natiinal Finals Winners, as well as against winners from the Territorial Competitions; take part in a number of rigorous challenges and assessments that will test their skills and abilities as well as their physical and mental aptitudes (including physical fitness); be scored and judged throughout the process, with the decision of the appointed judges and advisors being final; and may be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement or undertaking, preventing the participants from revealing certain aspects of and/or results from the Race Camp.

If you have what it takes to be a Nissan champion, visit our mall events and put your racing skills to the test! Download the registration form GTA REGISTRATION FORM

For more details and updates ont he upcoming new season of the Nissan GT Academy Philippines, please visit www.facebook.com/NissanPhilippinesInc.


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About Nissan Philippines, Inc.
Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) is the sole national company of Nissan in the Philippines. Since it began operations in 2014, NPI has become one of the fastest growing automotive companies in the Philippines, closing Fiscal Year 2015 with a 62% growth versus the previous Fiscal Year. NPI has also spearheaded the aggressive expansion of its dealership network, signing 11 new dealers in addition to the existing 28 Nissan dealerships which can be found in key cities nationwide.

NPI is committed to delivering Innocation that Excites to the Philippine market, through the introduction of new and exciting vehicles, innocative customer programs, and excellent customer service.

For more information on their products and services, visit their website at www.nissan.ph.

Local Media Contacts:
Therese Sarmiento
Email: therese.sarmiento@nissan.ph
Tel: +632-230-6060

Dax Avenido
Email: dax.avenido@nissan.ph
Tel: +632-230-6056

Rosario Ysmael - Palanca
Email: rosary@adspin.com.ph
Tel: +632-895-9823