Grand Touring, the new film from Sony Pictures, is not exactly a film adaptation of the video game of the same name, but a sports drama about the life and career of Jann Mardenborough, who before becoming a racing driver, was a passionate gamer who when presented with a unique opportunity, he knew not to miss it. Find out below what Mardenborough’s path was like to leave behind the controls of the PlayStation and take the wheel of a real racing car in the most demanding and risky competitions.
Born in September 1991, British Jann Mardenborough discovered Grand Touring when he was just eight years old. It happened during Guy Fawkes Night that, being at the house of some friends of his parents, while everyone was watching the fireworks of the festivity, Mardenborough went to the living room and began to play the very first installment of GT on a PlayStation One.
“That was the first time I played. I remember that I was driving a pink or purple Mitsubishi 3000GT and I was running in the Autumn Ring”, recalled the runner in an interview with Polygon. “After that day, for the next week, when I came back from elementary school, I kept going to his house. They were so sick of it always going on that they gave my parents the PlayStation One and Grand Touring. That’s where my obsession with video games began.”
Growing up in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, her fascination with Grand Touring it only increased with each new title in the franchise. The son of retired footballer Steve Mardenborough, the future racing driver also developed a deep love not only for speed, but also for the design and mechanics of cars. “Not many racing drivers are car enthusiasts, but I am a big petrolhead”, he assured. “I think cars are the ultimate expression of individualism and freedom.”
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In 2011, Mardenborough participated in GT Academya television show—born of the ambitious partnership between Nissan and Sony Interactive Entertainment—that promised to turn the best gamers of Grand Touring into real racing drivers. The call attracted a multitude of applicants from different regions, who simply had to comply with being of legal age and having a valid driver’s license.
In the early phases of the program, not only the best times on a virtual racing simulator were evaluated, but also the candidates’ potential to race on a real track. Then came the phase called «Race Camp», where the players of Grand Touring were put to the test in a real circuit, with the purpose of defining the winners of GT Academy. And in 2011, 19-year-old Jann Mardenborough was one of them, after beating tens of thousands of other competitors.
Being the youngest winner in the history of GT Academy, Mardenborough joined the Nissan Driver Training Program. For months, he trained professionally in order to obtain his international racing license and participate in the Dubai 24 Hours, his very first endurance race. Others followed that established him as a prominent figure in the world of motorsports, including Le Mans 2013, where he won a place on the podium.
But in a sport where accidents are the order of the day, Mardenborough’s career was unfortunately no exception. In 2015, while racing at the Nürburgring in Germany, the front of his car lifted off the ground, causing him to lose control and crash into a spectator area. Although the runner did not suffer serious injuries, the mishap did cost the life of a fan.
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In the film Grand TouringFrom director Neill Blomkamp, both the 2013 Le Mans race and the Nürburgring incident are an essential part of the story. “[Aquel accidente] It’s part of my story, so I feel like not including it would have offended the public,” Mardenborough said in an interview with Sunday Times Driving.
Now, by taking certain creative licences, the film places that tragic event before the victory of the British in France. Or in the words of A.V. Club, makes it a “painful obstacle to overcome on the protagonist’s path to glory”, which could be controversial in the critical eyes of some. However, the racing driver who inspired Grand Touring defends that decision, based on the understanding that “it is not a documentary.”
Needless to say, Mardenborough was heavily involved in the Sony Pictures film project. He attended script reviews where his comments and feedback were welcome, plus he kept in constant communication with the director and producers. And as if that were not enough, he also served as a stunt double for Archie Madekwe —the actor who plays him in Grand Touring— in all competition scenes. “That has never been done in a biopic before,” the racing driver shared with Polygon. “Unless Tom Cruise releases a biopic, it hasn’t been done before.”
Grand Touring It is currently exhibited in Mexican theaters.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.