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GT Academy Winner Lucas Ordoñez Continues Series Success In Nissan 350Z

After taking home top honours in the Nissan, Sony and Polyphony Digital GT Academy program, Lucas Ordoñez decided he could make something of a career in racing.
It turns out he might have been right, with last weekend’s efforts proving that Ordoñezâ€


After taking home top honours in the Nissan, Sony and Polyphony Digital GT Academy program, Lucas Ordoñez decided he could make something of a career in racing.

It turns out he might have been right, with last weekend’s efforts proving that Ordoñez’s win in the GT Academy experiment was anything but a fluke.

Ordoñez, along with experienced race driver Alex Buncombe, piloted the Nissan PlayStation team’s Nissan 350Z to a podium finish, taking third place in the competitive European GT4 series at Silverstone, in the UK.

Race one saw the drivers climb from 11th to 6th, with race two proving to be the moment of truth for the team.

Buncombe started the race in 4th position, but it was nothing but an open track ahead of the 350Z by the end of the first lap. The upper hand was soon lost however, with a safety car appearance and a pit stop dropping the boys back down into the pack.

Cue Ordoñez, who proceeded to fight it out for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. In the end, the up-and-comer forced his way through to maintain 3rd position, winning the bottom step on the podium for the day.

Lucas said: "I was really pushing hard on the last corners, trying to overtake the BMW. I could tell that he was losing grip on his rear tyres and I managed to overtake him on the last corner.

"I'm really happy that we came third in my first race weekend in GT4, it's great for me. We'll try to continue to improve in Italy in two weeks time. Alex showed that the Nissan can lead races and I need to help convert those chances."

Team boss of Nissan Playstation, Bob Neville added: "Last year the Nissan Z and Alex Buncombe won more races in European GT4 than anyone else, but the podium today feels like more of an achievement.

"We have seen Lucas grow in such a short space to deliver this exciting drive today."

The creator of the Gran Turismo series of games, Kazunori Yamauchi, was also at Silverstone to witness Ordoñez's transition from Gran Turismo gamer into successful real-life race driver.

Darren Cox, Nissan Europe, said: "I set Lucas, Alex and the team a objective of a top six result, they have overachieved against strong opposition from Aston Martin and BMW.

"Lucas must not let this result go to his head and focus on consistent results over the next five race weekends across Europe."

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