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GT Academy is a tournament arranged by Nissan to seek out the best Gran Turismo 5 players, then stick them on the track in real race cars to test their skills when there's no 'pause' button and wall shunts will actually hurt (and cost someone a lot of money).

Players had to place top in a series of regional in-game tournaments before competing in a head-to-head final and moving on to the real-life leg of the competition in Nissan GT-R and 370Z sports cars. The final was at Silverstone in good old Blighty, and the winner got a seat in an actual Nissan racing team.

The first episode airs tonight at 10 pm Eastern time, 7pm Pacific, and every Tuesday thereafter. Below is a sneak peek.