Nissan has announced Matt Simmons, Australia’s recent gamer-turned-racer, will compete in next year’s Blancpain Endurance Series for the brand.

He will join the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN squad for the 2016 season of the Blancpain Endurance Series driving a fully-fledged Nissan GT-R GT3, which features race aerodynamics, slicks, and produces up to 404kW in race trim.

The news comes only months after Simmons, who at the start of this year worked as a Brisbane courier, beat thousands of other hopefuls to win Nissan’s GT Academy International competition, and weeks after his first test of Nismo’s GT3 car at Snetterton, England.

Nissan GT Academy winner Matt Simmons to race 1

Simmons’ will now skip his planned race debut at the 2016 Dubai 24 Hours to “focus” on competing in the world’s most fierce GT3 championship, where he will face competition from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, and Ferrari.

Nissan GT Academy winner Matt Simmons to race 4

But the 2016 season presents the opportunity for Nissan to defend its pro-class win in this year’s Blancpain Endurance series.

Nissan GT Academy winner Matt Simmons to race 3
Nissan GT Academy winner Matt Simmons to race 2

However, the driver line-up for Nissan’s Bathurst effort will be announced at a later date.