Nissan GT Academy 2015 Race Camp came to an end earlier this week with a thrilling eight-lap race around Silverstone’s National Circuit in Nissan 370Z NISMO race cars. The final race at Silverstone featured the top finisher from each country: Matthew Simmons of Australia lined up on the front row of the grid, followed by Ryan Lynch from the U.S., Hüseyin Dağlı from Turkey in third, Ali Samy from North Africa in fourth, and Juan Carlos Carmona from Mexico starting at the back.
It was eight of the most enthralling laps that any motorsport enthusiast could have wished for. Matthew, the 26-year-old from Brisbane, Australia got a fantastic start off the line but was edged out coming in to the first corner by Ryan and Hüseyin. Ryan missed a breaking point early on in the race, running very wide and dropping back to fifth, which left Hüseyin and Matthew to battle it out. After exchanging blows three or four times in as many laps, Matthew seemed to have cemented first spot with back to back fastest lap times before his car seemingly slowed due to a mechanical fault allowing both Hüseyin and Juan Carlos to pass him.
The checkered flag was followed by nearly an hour of deliberation between the judges as the mentors and contestants waited patiently. Rob Barff, the head judge, eventually announced the final decision on the podium surrounded by the mentors and the final five competitors to huge cheers.
