In what is rapidly becoming a tradition, the latest U.S. Playstation/Nissan GT Academy winner, Bryan Heitkotter, has proven his mettle in the heat of professional competition. Heitkotter and his team finished third in the 24 Hours of Dubai race this weekend.

Heitkotter, 30, was ecstatic with the result--and understandably so. For an amateur racer to get the opportunity to take to the track in a serious 24-hour race in a setting like Dubai is a dream come true.

The podium finish came in the SP2 class with British GT Academy winter Jann Mardenborough, 2010 GT Academy winner Jordan Tresson, and 2008 GT Academy winner Lucas Ordoñez. Their car was a Nissan 370Z modified for race duty, reports AutoWeek.

Despite the long race and pro-am race team, the squad brought the car home with no damage whatsoever--a clean race.

It will be interesting to see where Heitkotter and his fellow GT Academy racers end up next.