Chip Ganassi Extreme E Entry To Wear GMC Hummer Styling
Chip Ganassi Racing has entered a multi-year partnership with GMC that will see the team’s Extreme E electric SUV wear GMC Hummer EV-inspired exterior styling.
Extreme E is an upcoming FIA-sanctioned off-road racing series that uses spec electric SUVs to race in environmentally fragile, remote parts of the world. All Extreme E entries will be based on the Spark Odyssey 21, a tube frame off-road SUV with a mid-mounted electric motor producing around 550 horsepower and a 54-kWh lithium-ion battery supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering. The inaugural FIA Extreme E season will start in April with the first-ever Desert X Prix in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia.
Through this partnership, Chip Ganassi Racing’s sole Extreme E entry will feature a grille, decals and bodywork inspired by the GMC Hummer EV pickup truck. The vehicle will be driven by experienced off-road racers Kyle Leduc and Sara Price.
“I can’t think of a better fit than showcasing the look of GMC’s Hummer EV in Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president for Performance and Motorsports at General Motors. “Both GMC Hummer EV and the Extreme E series are designed to be revolutionary – to challenge perceptions of electric vehicles and to showcase their true capability.”
“It’s truly an honor to represent GMC, especially during such an exciting time in auto racing,” added team owner Chip Ganassi. “The new GMC Hummer EV is going to be a game changer in terms of how the world views off-road EV capability, and we couldn’t be more proud to represent GMC in such an innovative new series.”
Extreme E race weekends will consist of two qualifying races, two semi-final races and a points-paying final race on Sunday. In each race, all teams must complete two laps of the 10-mile course, with each driver driving one lap and co-driving for the other. The series mandates that all teams must have one male and one female driver in order to promote gender equality in motorsports.
Fans will be able to follow Chip Ganassi Racing’s Extreme E endeavors via GMC’s social media channels. The Desert X Prix weekend is set to kick off on April 3rd, 2021.
SOURCE: GM AUTHORITY