Granta to help maximise car design efficiency of Chip Ganassi race cars

Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) has partnered with Granta Design to use Granta’s CES Selector to help develop stronger, lighter, and more durable race cars.

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the motor racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful and innovative owners in the sport. His teams compete in events including the Verizon IndyCar Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and they have won 18 championships and 170 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s.

Granta has created a PC software application which, along with the team’s existing software,is said to enhance and simplify the search process for information on materials that are fundamental to the car design process, and then applies this information to make smart decisions on the use of those materials. CES Selector is hoped to help the engineering team compare and choose alternate materials for its cars. The software application will be used by the engineering departments across all of CGRT’s racing disciplines.

John Probst, technical director at Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, said: “The extensive database offered by the software allows us to compare and select suitable materials and manufacturing processes for all applications of the vehicle. As a racing team our main goal is to win races and with a product like CES Selector we’re putting ourselves in the best possible position to make that goal a reality.”

CES Selector is a PC software application that offers materials property data, advanced graphical analysis, and specialist tools to solve real-world engineering problems. Engineers can make better decisions in early-stage design, explore alternate material choices to improve design performance, and compare and contrast material properties when seeking viable alternatives. The tool enables companies to build confidence in their choice of materials, reduce overall cost, and optimise product performance.

John Twerdok, director of sales at Granta Design, said: “Granta tools will enable them [Chip Ganassi Racing Teams] to explore ground-breaking designs and select the very best materials to support them.”