By Heyward Wagner

When Bryan Heitkotter took the E- Stock National Championship on his first trip to Nationals, many were impressed that a driver with so little experience, and just 25 years of age, could do so well. The reality was, when you factor in racing simulators, Heitkotter had more miles of seat time than most of us will acquire in a lifetime. That wealth of experience, an unquestionable level of natural talent and a tremendous amount of hard work now have Heitkotter on the verge of achieving a racing goal that most will only dream of.

Heitkotter’s first steering wheel was the keyboard of his parents’ 386 PC. Using the keys to control a very primitive racing simulator, he began honing his skills at age 11. By the time dial-up modems became commonplace, Heitkotter was ready to race head-to-head. Most of those early races were amongst a small group of friends, but with the advent of new technology, so came opportunity. The technology was broadband internet and the opportunity was to race the best simulator racers in the world. In 2010 Heitkotter took advantage of that opportunity while taking part in a road racing world championship, finishing eighth overall and first among American drivers.

A few months ago, when Sony, Gran Turismo and Nissan announced a US version of the GT Academy, Heitkotter knew this was the big opportunity he had been waiting for. He had been aware of the European program for a while and eagerly signed up for the US version. The competition would consist of three online rounds on the popular Grand Turismo 5 platform. From there, the top 32 drivers would be invited to Orlando for a head-to-head competition. The top 16 US drivers would then be invited to Silverstone in England to compete in what GT Academy calls “a grueling race camp, where their strength, stamina, mental agility, and driving skills will be pushed to the limits and beyond.”The winner will walk away with another opportunity, to become a professional racer with the promise of competing in a real race with a professional team.

Heitkotter made it through each of the three online rounds and earned a spot in the head-to-head National Finals in Orlando. In a battle of the best Grand Turismo 5 players in the country Heitkotter not only qualified for the trip to Silverstone, he claimed the top spot as the number 1 ranked American.

When Heitkotter arrives in England later this month, the competition will move away from the simulator and in to real cars and karts. The balance of competing in both real and simulated cars was never difficult for Heitkotter, in fact each have helped the other. He notes, “One thing I learned autocrossing that applies directly to GT5 is the approach of turning the steering wheel as little as possible through a corner.”In fact, he credits Grand Turismo for creating a product that rewards this real world truth, adding, ” This, to me, is probably the best thing about GT5’s physics. Plenty of racing simulators let drivers get away with all kinds of “interesting” techniques and GT5 seems to me to punish overdriving more than any other simulator.”

Heitkotter expected to have an advantage based on his autocross experience, but the reality is that many of his competitors have real car motorsports experience as well. He will face some drivers with meaningful club racing experience and a karting National Champion. All totaled, roughly a third of the competitors have some level of autocross experience. While still confident, the level of competition he is facing has him looking for every opportunity to gain experience and refinement. With the trip to Silverstone only days away, Heitkotter spent the last two weekend taking an Evolution Challenge School and at the karting track.

One of the biggest challenges for Heitkotter will be the physical demands and expectations placed upon professional race car drivers. He noted, “The GT Academy is no doubt the biggest challenge I have faced and I’ll be tested on more than just driving ability. That is what worries me the most. Despite training hard and learning a lot about exercise since the national finals in Orlando, I doubt I will be as physically prepared as many of the other contestants. There’s no need to be fit for autocross, so this is new territory for me. I was never athletic in school either.”As a result, Heitkotter has been spending a lot of time preparing physically for the competition. On the mental side, uncertainty is linked to his success noting, “I’m rarely confident about my own prospects, even going into a big autocross event. I think maybe it helps me keep a level head and focus.”

When asked the cliché question “what would it mean to you to win?”, Heitkotter’s response shows both his desire and his awareness of how special this opportunity is. “Ever since I can remember, racing is all I’ve ever wanted to do. It has always seemed out of reach with the tremendous investment required to make it in the business, usually starting in childhood. This opportunity is really incredible and to win it would change my life completely.”

For those of us remaining stateside, it will be a little while before even Heitkotter can tell us how the competition went. The entire program is being documented and will air in a special presentation by SPEED Channel in the fall. So if you see Bryan at Nationals, it is ok to ask him how he is doing, just don’t ask him how he did.