Jann Mardenborough was the winner of Sony’s Gran Turismo inspired GT Academy – a racing programme that initially featured video gamers testing on virtual circuits before completing tryouts. One lucky winner then went on to take a seat in a Nissan for real. Mardenborough has spent the last two seasons in GT cars, Le Mans Prototypes and single-seaters. His most recent efforts earned him the runner-up spot in the New Zealand-based TRS single-seater championship. His podium finish at Le Mans in 2013 came two years to the day after he reached the final stages of GT Academy in 2011.
It has now been announced that Mardenborough will compete in Formula One feeder series, GP3, in 2014 with the championship-winning Arden International team. The 2011 GT Academy winner also joins an intensive driver development programme with Infiniti Red Bull Racing, the most successful Formula One team of recent times.
“We’re delighted to welcome Jann onto our programme,” said Andy Damerum, Red Bull Racing’s driver development manager. “We have been tracking Nissan’s innovative approach to motorsport and in particular GT Academy that challenges the status quo of motorsport. The traditional route to F1 of karting and single-seaters is a tried and tested success but Nissan and PlayStation have gone down a very different road and started to find some very talented drivers who have been doing all their practicing on a games console. I’m very interested to see how Jann fares on our programme and in GP3 this season and I look forward to taking him under the Infiniti Red Bull Racing wing to further progress his career.”
We all at Car Articles wish Jann the very best of luck and hope that he continues to progress in GP3.
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