As the official automotive sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, Nissan went and put football to the ultimate test, assessing whether soccer can be as exciting as riding in a GT-R on the track.
In order to crunch the numbers, the automaker teamed up with sports science experts from Loughborough University and found some willing participants eager to put on wearable tech to monitor their heart and breathing rates.
Naturally, the participants had to attend live matches during important UCL fixtures, followed by a track day at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
After running the experiments, Dr. Dale Eslinger concluded that the heart rates of football fans and Nissan GT-R passengers were “broadly comparable, with them increasing at peak moments as you would expect – such as when a goal was scored or driving round a tight corner.”
“The main differences we saw were the physiological responses of the passengers and football supporters breathing rates. During the football matches we saw breathing rate increasing followed by a reduction in breathing rate, as fans held their breath during key moments of anticipation, thus demonstrating their excitement journey across the course of 90 minutes is more of a rollercoaster of emotions. Whilst for the GT-R passengers breathing rate consistently increases, suggesting a more sustained feeling of excitement.”
Speaking of excitement, we’re only a few days away from the 2017 UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid, scheduled for Saturday, June 3rd.
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