Gran Turismo Player Turns Real-World Racing Champion
Hah! And you thought video game ability was only proportional to likelihood of being a mass murderer. Well, there’s at least one case to prove otherwise, and that is the tale of Lucas Ordonez, a Gran Turismo racing champion who was given the chance to learn how to drive a real-life race car thanks to his skills landing him a place at the Playstation GT Academy.
Well he graduated with flying colors, and received his racing license a short time later. He immediately entered in some big events, and proved that he was handy with more than just a joystick.
“He took off to compete in the famous GTA Dubai International 24 Hour race in 2009. Racing in a Nissan 350Z, he completed 451 laps and 2431km in 24 hr. That impressive performance earned him a 9th place finish, and put him in a tie with English former F1 Gun, Johnny Herbert.
Then came an even greater accomplishment. Ordoñez won the European GTA Cup for RJN Motorsport, a very high profile event. Ordoñez now appears poised to enjoy a very successful and financially rewarding racing career, all thanks to his gaming experience.”
So the moral of the story is, my Call of Duty skills should now qualify me to run ops with Navy SEALS?
[via Daily Tech]
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[...] Gran Turismo player turns real-word racing champion – [Double Kill] [...]
I received a PS2 for my 17th birthday and Gran Turismo 3 was the first game I had. My life was immediately changed. I had also just begun driving in real life… I’ll never forget thinking how all the technicalities [that the game taught you] could be used in real life. I started watching racing and realized that real life drivers were using the same techniques and skills that I learned to use in the game – specifically correct racing lines, when to hold throttle, when to increase throttle, when to brake, drafting, passing, cornering… I could go on. With all that said, I am not the least bit surprised that a real life driving champion was born just by being passionate about the game and racing itself.
This is a great story, Paul, and if you could find more video game skill to real life skill transition success stories I think it would do great justice to the video game industry and its supporters. As always, keep up the good work.
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