How did the real accident happen that marks the history of the film Gran Turismo?

A few days ago Gran Turismo was released, the film that tells the story of a fan of the racing simulator who became a professional driver after winning the first prize at the Nissan GT Academy.

The film directed by Neil Blomkamp was well received by fans, so much so that last weekend topped the box office in the United States, overtaking Barbie . Gran Turismo grossed $17.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to figures from Exhibitor Relations.

The good results of the Sony film that adapts the Playstation video game can be explained by the interesting staging that has been carried out, where the details of the game are not touched on, but rather land on reality with what precisely one players.

But as a good cinematographic work based on a true story, that of Jann Mardenborough (played by Archie Madekwe) also has creative licenses that make it possible to give the scenario drama and vertigo. This has generated a slew of criticism, as many claim the truth has been twisted, especially with an event that marks a turning point in history.

Spoiler alert: if you got here and don’t want to know any details about the movie, it might be best not to read on.

The plot shows Jann Mardenborough’s progress since being selected to be part of the GT Academy, a talent search program run by Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom), which seeks to demonstrate that Gran Turismo players can too. be real pilots and not just console.

Like in a classic movie, problems arise and the protagonist takes it upon himself to overcome them one by one.

In essence, it’s the same recipe as what can be seen in Top Gun or Rocky, but the director of Gran Turismo manages to pace himself and is able to keep the viewer’s attention. Here, the role of Jack Salter, played by David Harbour, who is reminiscent of Robert Duvall in The Days of Thunder of the 90s, is essential.

So far so good the world is starting to open up in Mardenborough even love would be in his life – he was a player and like many he had no partner – until ‘the point of no return is called to the cinema. It is the action that causes the rupture.

In Gran Turismo, an accident involving the protagonist on the Nürburgring circuit is what causes the turning point of the story and which, later, allows him to be the source of inspiration and strength to get up and reach a podium. unprecedented at Le Mans.

But did this accident happen or is it part of the director’s creative license?

Unfortunately, the accident was real and, like in the film, it cost the life of a spectator, yes, this does not happen in the indicated timeline .

The reality is that Jann Mardenborough did well on the podium in the LMP2 series at Le Mans in 2013, but the accident he suffered at the legendary German circuit happened two years later. Here, then, the precept that the truth doesn’t spoil a good story was applied, and Neil Blomkamp and the writing team chose to use this tragic moment as an impetus for the protagonist to demonstrate that players could also achieve the dreams of being pilots, officials of a royal team.

Jan Marderborough’s crash happened on a date in the VNL Championship, an endurance competition that took place at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

On March 28, 2013, the British driver was at the controls of a Nissan GT-R GT3 when he arrived in the area known as “Flugplatz” (aerodrome in German), being an area which is next to the place where a glider airfield was located. .

The place is known to be dangerous, since there is a change in the slope of the track, which can easily cause the car to lose control. This is precisely what happened to the pilot, with his car lifting its nose, while the rear wheels continued to be pulled, causing the car to perform a series of turns that sent it flying into the public area , where a bystander died and a couple had to be treated for their injuries.

After what happened, Nissan issued a statement stating that “it appears the car left the track in the Flugplatz section and jumped the containment fence, landing on its roof in a spectator area. Several spectators were injured in the incident and, although they received immediate treatment, one died of his injuries. The others were taken to hospital for treatment.

After the accident, Marderborough retired from racing for a short time and competed in several series, including Formula E, where he worked on the Nissan team simulator. Today, he is still a professional driver and participates in the Super Taikyu Series in Japan in the ST-X category with FIA GT3 homologated cars.