Get your driving wheels at the ready, GT Academy 2012 goes live today at 5pm BST / 6pm CET.

GT Academy is a competition devised by Nissan and PlayStation that aims to turn gamers into real life racers. It works too. Over the past three years the competition has unearthed a number of talented young Gran Turismo players that have gone on to establish professional racing careers for themselves, competing in races around the globe.

I’ve had the opportunity to see the training that the winners receive first-hand and no jokes, it’s insane. The GT Academy 2012 champion will get access to millions of pounds worth of equipment, training from the very best there is and as much track time as you could dream of. It’s more than just a prize.

So, how do you get involved? Well, the first stage is online qualification. You need to download a new, free piece of Gran Turismo content from PSN between 17.00BST / 18.00CEST today and 23.59BST / 00.59CEST on 24th June. Once you have downloaded the content, the competition begins.

Polyphony Digital will release new qualification rounds approximately every two weeks, with a total of eight rounds comprised of five sections. Each of the rounds features a different racing skill to learn and master. You will need to clear one to progress to the next.

Here’s a list of the rounds and when they will be available. You can download and take part at any time during the competition, so if you miss one you can always catch up later.

Round 1 and 2:

1/5 (Tue) 17.00BST – 24/6 (Sun) 23:59 BST

Round 3 and 4:

14/5 (Mon) 00:00 – 24/6 (Sun) 23:59 BST

Round 5 and 6:

28/5 (Mon) 00:00 – 24/6 (Sun) 23:59 BST

Round 7 and 8 (ROUND 8 IS FINAL/QUALIFICATION EVENT):

6/11 (Mon) 00:00 – 24/6 (Sun) 23:59 BST

Completing the events to Gold, Silver or Bronze standards offers up cars and various other unlockable treats.

Then, finally, should you progress through to the final qualification event and nab a place in the top 16, you’ll be in with a chance of progress to July’s National Final event at the Silverstone Racecamp and the Driver Development Programme from September to December, all of which culminates in the ultimate prize: A place on the starting grid at the Dubai 24HR race.

You can find out more about the GT Academy over on the PS Blog, plus there’s a video for the event below. Best of luck.