With the current success of the brand new film, “Gran Turismo,” many may surprise simply what it’s prefer to stay the lifetime of a racecar driver.
Nick McMillen has lived this life, going from automobile salesman and “Gran Turismo” participant to a three-month intensive driver growth program with Nissan the place he started his professional racecar driver profession.
McMillen is presently an advisor to Racing Prodigy, a groundbreaking sports activities, leisure and media property, that just lately unveiled the world’s first e2Real sports activities league that’s designed to make motorsports extra accessible utilizing esports as a pathway to real-world racing.
Racecar Driver Nick McMillen Shares His Racing Life Expertise
All of it started again in 2013 when McMillen beat out greater than 400,000 contestants to win GT Academy USA. Since that point, McMillen’s life has been a stay motion “Gran Turismo” scene. Whereas profitable GT Academy USA was pivotal in his profession, McMillen has been into automobile racing since a younger age.
“I initially grew up racing motocross from the age of 5 at a considerably critical degree. Whereas completely different disciplines, my dad was a racer and my grandfather as nicely, so I used to be at all times surrounded by motorsports and enamored by something with wheels and an engine,” he advised The Blast completely.
“Turning into an expert motocross racer was my final dream for a lot of my youthful life. As soon as I turned 16 and began spending extra time round automobiles and driving, I made a decision I needed to one way or the other get into the world of automobiles and begin membership racing to get my ft moist. As I discovered rapidly, even on the lowest ranges, it will possibly simply value upwards of $1,000 per day, so that concept by no means got here to fruition and fizzled out, so I turned my focus towards my schooling and future profession. It wasn’t till I received GT Academy in 2013, that I used to be capable of start my skilled profession in motorsports.”
Successful GT Academy Put His Racecar Journey Into Excessive Gear
Successful GT Academy was a dream come true for McMillen. He stated it was “surreal” to go from a median life as a university child to touring and racing automobiles all all over the world.
“Once I received GT Academy, I moved to England for a pair months and was put by way of and intensive driver growth program to get me on top of things with plans to compete in one of many largest GT3 class championships on the planet,” he advised The Blast.
“Each week, I used to be out and in of the fitness center to get my bodily health up. I spent hours of time on the racing simulator to get acquainted with tracks I’d be racing on and would additionally emulate a typical race weekend with a pair apply periods, qualifying, and a full race stint. Then, on the finish of every week I used to be in the actual automobile and on observe getting my laps in to earn my worldwide racing license.”
In a matter of about eight to 9 weeks, McMillen went from by no means having raced a automobile to having competed in 14 races. He even acquired to check a $500,000 GT3 automobile on the finish of the expertise, which he would go on to race full time the next yr.
Many individuals really feel that enjoying video video games, particularly automobile racing video games, will help relating to precise driving expertise, and McMillen agrees.
“I feel video video games normally, however particularly driving video games, can educate you positive motor expertise together with hand eye coordination that pertains to driving in actual life,” he stated. “On a controller for instance, you progress concerning the world by way of joysticks and buttons, usually modulating how briskly or gradual you go like that of working the brakes, throttle, steering wheel, and many others. You should concentrate on your atmosphere and sometimes must predict what’s forward or be ready to react rapidly ought to that you must assault, defend, or keep away from one thing. On the finish of the day, if you are driving, you might be working a machine by way of varied controllers so to talk in an unpredictable and ever-changing atmosphere.”
“Gran Turismo” Tells The Story Of One, However There Are Extra Than 20 Different Drivers Worldwide
With “Gran Turismo” in theaters presently, McMillen needed to share some data he feels followers ought to know.
“The Gran Turismo film tells the story of 1 individual, however there are greater than 20 different drivers worldwide who additionally went by way of related packages, transitioning from the simulator to actual racing. These drivers finally competed professionally in actual automobiles and had been extraordinarily aggressive in opposition to drivers with many years of expertise,” he defined.
“This highlights how a lot a racing simulator or sport can really educate somebody concerning the essential expertise and methods of find out how to drive a automobile rapidly round a observe. In consequence, once they enter an precise racecar, many can carry out nicely after only a little bit of apply and steerage.”
He continued to clarify that this system with Racing Prodigy is constructed with a sustainable enterprise mannequin that doesn’t require racers to hunt six or seven determine sponsorships after their prize yr or when their contract ends.
“This key level of differentiation emphasizes our dedication to reworking motorsports relatively than merely replicating present fashions which have come and gone over time,” he stated. “Sim racing gave me the unbelievable alternative to get in an actual race automobile, so I’m excited to offer again to the group that has performed a lot for me, now serving to and advising Racing Prodigy in creating extra actual racing alternatives and tales like mine.”
Racing Prodigy will take the highest performers from its 12 esports racing tournaments from June by way of October and put them in actual Radical SR1 race automobiles with knowledgeable instruction on the Atlanta Motorsports Park starting on October 30 throughout Prodigy Week.
