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PHOTO SHOWS (from left): Mr. Chris Wong, Head of Marketing for ABS-CBN Integrated Sports, Mr. Jun Martinez, Head of Business Development for ABS-CBN Integrated Sports, Mr. Vince Rodriguez, Channel Head of ABS-CBN Sports + Action, Mr. Antonio Zara, President and Managing Director, Nissan Philippines, Inc., Mr. SJ Huh, General Manager for Marketing, Nissan Philippines, Inc., ; Mr. Gary Pudney, Account Director, Precious Media, Mr. Nixon Lim, Manila Representative, Precious Media

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015

Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) recently teamed up with ABS-CBN as the former’s official broadcast partner for its 2015 Nissan GT Academy TV reality show. This is scheduled to be aired over the Sports + Action channel towards the end of the year.

A first of its kind in the Philippines, the Nissan GT Academy TV reality show will track the twenty finalists battle it out for the Top Six slots in the upcoming National Finals. Those who make the cut will go on to Race Camp Week, at Silverstone Circuit in the UK, Home to British Motorsport, where they will undergo on- and off-track training and actual race car driving. Awaiting the winner is the prize of US$1 million worth of training, as well as becoming the next virtual-to-reality professional race car driver under the Nissan banner.

“Filipino audiences can look forward to having an up-close and center seat to one of the most exciting motoring events to ever break out in free TV,” Antonio Zara, NPI President and Managing Director, said. “We are happy to join forces with ABS-CBN in this venture, in recognition of its reach both in the local and international markets, as well as for its vaunted broadcasting know-how.”

“We are honored and privileged to carry this first-of-its kind show here in the country,” Vince Rodriguez, Channel Head of ABS-CBN Sports + Action said. “Sports fans can definitely look forward to a new level of excitement, action, as well as human drama in their television screens soon, as we bring them inside the world of high-speed motor racing.”

For 2015, the Nissan GT Academy is having competitions held in three geographic arenas, namely: GT Academy Europe, covering France, Italy, Germany, UK, Iberia (Spain, Portugal), Benelux (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), and Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic); GT Academy International, which covers the USA, Australia, Mexico, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey; and GT Academy Asia, which counts Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia and recently, the Philippines, within its fold.

“Whoever is named as the first Asian GT Academy winner can look up to an illustrious line of winners, starting with Lucas Ordóñez as the inaugural winner in 2008, followed by Jordan Tresson for 2010, Jann Mardenborough and Bryan Heitkotter in 2011, Wolfgang Reip, Mark Shulzhitskiy, Peter Pyzera and Steve Doherty in 2012, Miguel Faisca, Stanislav Aksenov, Florian Strauss, Nick McMillen for 2013 and Gaëtan Paletou, Marc Gassner, Ricardo Sanchez , and Nicolas Hammann last 2014,” Zara said.
“Some of these winners have gone on to compete and win in other international car racing competitions, such as the Blancpain Endurance Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, European Formula Three Championships, to name a few.”

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About Nissan Philippines, Inc.

Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) is the sole national sales company of Nissan in the Philippines which started its operations in 2014. NPI is responsible for strengthening brand, marketing and sales strategy, and dealer operations in the Filipino market.

Nissan ranked the highest in customer satisfaction with after-sales service among new vehicle owners according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2014 Philippines Customer Service Index (CSI) Study.

For more information on our products and services, visit our website at www.nissan.ph.

Local Media Contacts:
Dax Avenido
Email: dax.avenido@nissan.ph
Tel: +632 230 6056

Rosario Ysmael - Palanca
Email: rosary@adspin.com.ph
Tel: +632 895 9823