Gran Turismo live at Luna Park shows the power of e-Sports as a spectacle!

How’s this for a tight finish:

That’s the exact moment when Takuma Miyazono crossed the line 0.029 seconds ahead of Australia’s Cody Nikola Latkovski to win the Nations Cup title at the opening round of the FIA Gran Turismo Championships.

Cody is a Perth boy, 19 years of age, who has been playing Gran Turismo since he was 3, and while he’s the fastest Aussie, and battled hard to almost take the win, don’t think he’s got some crazy driving rig at home. Nope, his wheel and pedals are strapped to a makeshift wooden rig with an old car seat whacked down for comfort.

He was one of a gang of Aussies taking part in the first World Tour event to be held in Australia at Sydney’s Luna Park this weekend.

They included 2015 GT Academy winner Matt Simmons who went on to become a professional race driver but keeps his skills tuned in the GT series.

I got the chance to meet some of the drivers on the weekend and they are a passionate and knockabout bunch, but once they sit down to race they are all eyes on the track.

This is a legitimate spectator sport. This show proved it to me.

A big crowd packed into Luna Park, they cheered the Aussies, they gasped at the slips and slides, and they lept to their feet as Cody challenged for the line at the end of a 30 lap final.

It was a truly epic race and a brilliant event.

For those who doubt the power of e-Sports, time to rethink, and pop into the next event in your city – or tune in to the next live stream.

Oh, and if you think you’re as good as them or better, fire up the PS4 with Gran Turismo Sport mode and start setting your own qualifying times – you never know, you might just get the call-up to the next event.