Jann Mardenborough was born in Darlington, in the North East of England, on 9 September 1991, the son of former footballer Steve Mardenborough. Since he was a child, he did not have a strong desire to follow in his father's footsteps and, like almost all children born in the 90s, he developed a passion for video games, mainly automotive ones.
At the age of 8, a friend introduced him to the famous racing video game “Gran Turismo” on PlayStation. Little Jann thus begins to become passionate about that video game, so much so that he goes to his friend's house every day. Over the years, after receiving a console as a gift, he purchased all the subsequent versions of the famous video game saga, then moving from the joystick to a steering wheel and pedals to try a more realistic experience.
At the age of majority he enrolled in engineering at university, but dropped out shortly after, as the boy was not good at mathematics.
Jann Mardenborough: the GT Academy and the beginning of the adventure
In 2011, during a sabbatical, he noticed an advertisement online from the GT Academy of Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer, which offered the opportunity to become a professional driver for Nissan. First, however, he had to pass a time trial on "Gran Turismo 5". He passes the time test and is selected among the top 20 in his geographical area.
It was just the beginning of this new adventure: to secure a contract as a professional driver, he had to pass 4 stages which included both virtual driving and driving on the circuit, the Silverstone one, in the short version called "National". In addition to passing these 4 tests, he had to beat all the other participants. Today, we would define it as a sort of "Blue Lock", but in a motoring sense.
Jann, who had never driven on a circuit, not even with karts, found himself competing for the first time at Silverstone. He passes the various stages brilliantly. In the final test, at Silverstone, in the "National" version with a 20-minute race, aboard a Nissan 370Z, Mardenborough arrived ahead of everyone, with an 8" advantage over the second place. Thus he wins the contest, beating 90 thousand kids from all over the world, all as a beginner in sports driving.
Jann Mardenborough: the dream come true: The 24 Hours of Le Mans
After officially becoming a Nissan driver, Mardenborough travels the world for the most disparate automotive categories, especially the preparatory categories for F1, like European and British F3. In 2013, Mardenborough was chosen by Nissan to drive alongside Spanish driver Lucas Ordóñez and German driver Michael Krumm at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The three drivers drive a Zytek Z11SN-Nissan for Greaves Motorsport in the LMP2 class. The race, as often happens at the Circuit de la Sarthe, proved to be full of dangers, with the rain coming and going.
The Greaves crew appears to be competitive enough to fight for the podium, but the numerous time losses caused by the Safety Car end up favoring the Russian G-Drive Racing team. At the end of the race, the Greaves crew ranked 10th in the general ranking and 4th in the LMP2 class.
But an incredible twist brings Mardenborough, Ordóñez and Krumm onto the podium. The car from the Russian G-Drive team appears to be irregular due to its fuel tank, which exceeds the permitted 75 liters. The Russian car was disqualified and Greaves Motorsport grabbed an unexpected podium.
Jann Mardenborough thus went, in just two years, from playing "Gran Turismo" in his room to arriving on the podium in one of the most iconic races in motorsport, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As they say in these cases, nothing is impossible in this world.
Jann Mardenborough in popular culture
The incredible story of Jann Mardenborough was made into a film entitled “Gran Turismo – The Story of an Impossible Dream” by South African director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”). It stars Archie Madekwe as Mardenborough, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Djimon Hounsou and Geri Halliwell, wife of Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.
The film, shot in Hungary, takes many historical liberties, even from a chronological point of view, with events following the Le Mans which are mentioned earlier in the film. The scenes filmed on the track were filmed at the Hungaroring, although in the film it is referred to as the Silverstone circuit.