Nissan GT Academy hits halfway point

The Nissan GT Academy returns on Thursday night on Spike TV at 11:30 p.m. Normally we’d post a review on Thursday, but we’re going to be in a turkey coma on the couch just like you. If you didn’t catch last week’s episode we have it here now so you can catch up.

The GT Academy starts as an online contest in the video game Gran Turismo 5. The best gamers in the United States win a trip to the Silverstone Circuit in England to compete for a seat in a real Nissan race car. Previous winners have competed at Le Mans and the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, and also in the new DeltaWing vehicle.

Episode three starts with the nine remaining competitors plus Bryan Heitkotter, who won last year’s contest. The gamers have to match his time in a Nissan 370Z around the track for their second benchmark test. Only two drivers failed to beat their previous time.

The second challenge of the week is Mud Mayhem, designed by British commandos. The drivers split up into three teams and race through the mud, all while being yelled at by a British soldier. One of the competitors loses his wedding ring in the contest and leaves it in the mud—his return home could warrant a reality show in itself.

The third challenge of the week is a braking test where drivers have to accelerate to 100 mph, and then brake square in the pit box while dodging cardboard pitmen. It proves a bit challenging for some competitors after concentrating on speed for three weeks. A few even blow the cardboard men completely off the track.

The pit stop proved to be the undoing for Kyle Preston who also stumbled in the second benchmark test. He was sent back home to Redding, Calif. at the end of the episode.

That’s eight competitors down, and eight to go. We’ll have a review of episode four next week.

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