Ahmed’s on track!

The Nissan PlayStation GT Academy International Race Camp drew to a thrilling conclusion at the UK’s Silverstone circuit as Ahmed Khaled from Saudi Arabia was crowned the Middle East champion of the racing challenge.

The civil engineer, 25, who finished in fourth place in the overall competition, won his place at the GT Academy Race Camp against hundreds of thousands of Gran Turismo gamers that entered the competition across Australia, India, Mexico, the Middle East and Thailand.

Having won regional heats, he arrived at Silverstone as one of five to represent the Middle East, alongside 27 international competitors overall, representing six countries split into five territory groups.

Over the course of six days, the competitors were put through their paces both on and off track. They enjoyed some of the best racing instruction and mentoring in the world in a range of Nissan cars, including the mighty GT-R, the 370Z Nismo and 370Z race cars. Each group had a territory judge, who acted as a mentor, but then had to make the difficult decisions when it came to eliminations from the competition.

“For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a racing driver, this was why I spent so much time playing Gran Turismo. The Nissan PlayStation GT Academy Challenge has made this dream come true,” said Ahmed.

“The Race Camp at Silverstone was a really tough competition, testing physical and mental capabilities and honing our skills as an actual racing driver. With no professional motorsport experience, I channeled my passions for racing which pushed me to do what I never thought possible. I want to thank all the organisers for developing this programme and particularly Nissan and Sony PlayStation for the life- changing opportunity.”

As well as the circuit driving and assessment, the competitors were judged on a series of challenges that included the Mud Mayhem assault course, Nissan Micra Stock Car racing, the Traffic Challenge in the Nissan GT-R, the Dirt Track Time Trial in the Nissan Juke, the head-to-head Gymkhana, Buggy Racing, and a head-to-head Dogfight pursuit race in Nissan 370Zs. Each challenge was accompanied and assessed by their judges that included ex-F1 test driver Dani Clos, V8 Supercar legend Rick Kelly, ex-F1 racer Karun Chandhok, Rally Driver and Drift King Abdo Feghali and renowned Thai Formula racer Tor Graves.

Gradual eliminations led to the challenge finale, and the penultimate day of Buggy and Dogfight challenges formed the decision from each judge on which of their two best drivers would take the wheel of the 370Z race cars for an eight-lap race of Silverstone’s national circuit.

Samir Cherfan, managing director, Nissan Middle East, said: “GT Academy demonstrates Nissan’s belief in delivering innovation and excitement in everything we do – the programme is both unique and thrilling. Wherever it is run in the world, GT Academy’s selection process and driver development programme has produced genuinely fast racing drivers. We have every confidence that Ahmed will add to this legacy and raise the region’s interest in motorsport.”

GT Academy now has more than 500 million miles of virtual racing in its rearview mirror and every single winner of the contest has tasted real racing success, including class wins at 24-Hours of Dubai and gamers going all the way from their lounge to Le Mans, standing on the podium of the world’s most toughest and most famous race.