Gran Turismo Academy 2015

Question

Welcome to the Nissan Gran Turismo Academy 2015 thread.
With the release of the 1.18 update we have our first glimpse of what lies in store.
Most details are yet to be revealed, but we can take a look at what we know so far.
As per the 2014 GT Academy, this years competition will be held over 4 rounds.
The first round will begin on the 21st of April.
Each round will run for 2 weeks, and then the following round will be opened.
So the schedule is as follows :
Round 1 : Commences 21st April
Round 2 : Commences 5th May
Round 3 : Commences 19th May
Round 4 : Commences 2nd June
At this stage the full list of countries officially participating is yet to be released.
And while everyone is able to take part in the online events, unfortunately those that don't live in a participating country will not be included in the final selection process.
However, we do have confirmation that the UK and Australia will be on that list.
Below are some official links to keep an eye on.
http://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/academy/news/  (for UK players)
http://www.gran-turismo.com/au/academy/news/  (for Aus. players)
https://www.facebook.com/GTAcademy
https://twitter.com/GTAcademy
I will also add this web-page set up by Nissan Australia where you can 'Register your interest' and stay up to date on all the latest information.
http://www.nissan.com.au/Forms/GT-Academy-RYI
This thread will be updated as more details come to hand.
Please feel free to ask any questions, offer advise, or just simply chat about the 2015 GT Academy.
Best of luck to one and all.

Answer 1

Seeing as we are a little short on official details, perhaps we can take a look back at last years events and speculate what might be in store.
The dates of the 2014 GT Academy match exactly with this years dates.
They were as follows:
Online Event Schedule
Round 1 - 8:00 (BST) April 21, 2014 until 07:59 (BST) June 16, 2014
Round 2 - 8:00 (BST) May 5, 2014 until 07:59 (BST) June 16, 2014
Round 3 - 8:00 (BST) May 19, 2014 until 07:59 (BST) June 16, 2014
Round 4 (Final Qualification Round) - 8:00 (BST) June 2, 2014 until 07:59 (BST) June 16, 2014
*You can start anytime before the end of Round 4.
Essentially all rounds lasted 2 weeks before the next one opened, and therefore the online events ended on the 16th June.
Note how you could still enter all of the events right up to the closing date.
The total number of qualifiers for the 'National Finals' varied from country to country.
And generally half of the qualifiers were from the online events, and the other half from live events.
Both the UK and Australia each had 28 qualifiers that went to their respective National Finals.
Last year there was also a Facebook based 'GT Academy Challenge'.
Now for the 2014 events.
Round 1 : Nissan Leaf G around Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.
Round 2 : Nissan 370Z around Apricot Hill Raceway.
Round 3 : Nissan GT-R Black Edition around Mount Panorama.
Round 4 : GT-R NISMO GT3 Team RJN '13 around Spa-Francorchamps.
At the start of Round 3, those living in participating countries were requested to accept or decline the competition's Terms & Conditions.
This had no bearing on players not within participating countries.
And in Round 4 a new "Your Region" leaderboard was added. If those living in participating countries reached the top spots on their leaderboard, they were able to progress to the National Finals.
But what about us mere mortals who won't make the grade?
Each round of course had decent credit payouts.
And players who obtained Gold in Round 4 were awarded the GT-R NISMO GT3 Team RJN '13.
Also, a few months later all 2014 GT Academy participants received a Nissan GT-R NISMO.
http://www.gran-turismo.com/au/news/00_5621644.html?t=academy
So that about wraps up the review of the 2014 GT Academy.
Hopefully that gives you some insight as to what to expect for 2015.