From Gran Turismo to Formula 1?

Red Bull announced earlier this week the addition of Jann Mardenborough to their roster of promising young racecar drivers. The 22 years-old Brit started his career by winning first place in the GT Academy back in 2011, and has since raced in Formula 3 and LMP.

Mardenborough’s path is an atypical one. Two years ago, he had never touched a racecar steering wheel. He played a lot of Gran Turismo on his Playstation 3, and one day found himself among the recruits for the GT Academy. This competition, organized by Sony in partnership with Nissan, offers a handful of players from around the world a chance to use their experience on the screen in the real world, using Nissan race cars. The best of them all wins a place in the Nissan Racing Team, and all the training and funding to race a season in GT3.

Jann Mardenborough will start the 2014 season racing for the Arden team in GP3, sponsored by Red Bull. If he performs well, this could be very good for his career, since last-season champion in GP3, Daniil Kvyat, has been offered a seat in Formula 1 with Torro Rosso. Jann would then become the first pilot from the GT Academy to race in Formula 1.

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