What's the news?
Nissan has released three short films ostensibly to showcase the biometric technology used to monitor the fitness and performance of its Nismo athletes. The main film, 'Nismo Vs. Wingsuit', shows a 370Z being driven hard by GT Academy Champion Peter Pyzera on Alpine roads, while extreme base jumper David Barlia flew over the mountain terrain in a Wingsuit.
Set in Switzerland's Susten Pass, driver and base jumper race each other through some dramatic scenery. Descending 4,501 feet Barlia reached speeds of more than 130mph whilst passing within six metres of the rocky terrain with nothing except his wingsuit for protection. On four wheels Pyzera can be seen pushing the 370Z to its limits on the mountain hairpin bends. Both men wore biometric harnesses whilst participating in the challenge; this monitors physical and telemetric factors, feeding data back to the Nissan JukeRide.
The JukeRide is a Nissan Juke fitted with computers and large screens to analyse the feedback from the harnesses. Nismo is using the data gathered from a variety of athletes to feed back to the fitness training programme for its racing drivers.
After the descent Pyzera commented: "That was absolutely amazing, I could see Dave up above me and I just had to concentrate and get in the zone to beat him down. Afterwards we looked at the data we gathered from wearing the biometric harnesses, which monitor my biometric data, and I could see when I was totally focussed. While this is fun, it is serious business - it not only improves my performance but is invaluable in helping me prepare for my next race."
Anything else?
GT Academy is in its fifth year; run in collaboration between Nissan and PlayStation it takes online gamers and turns them into real racing drivers. Part of that process is a fitness programme using a variety of state-of-the-art technology including a Batak console to improve reaction times, a race simulator and the sci-fi sounding Brainwave Monitor, which trains the mind to focus and relax simultaneously.
You can check out the Nismo Vs. Wingsuit videos below.
John Lambert - 3 Oct 2013