Chip Ganassi Racing closes Extreme E team

Chip Ganassi Racing will not race in Extreme E in 2024, wrapping up operations after competing since the inaugural season three years prior. However, the team is open to returning to the championship when it transitions to the hydrogen-powered Extreme H in 2025.

CGR’s Extreme E division was close partners with General Motors, who provided support via the GMC Hummer EV brand that includes their Spark ODYSSEY 21 sporting a nose modelled after said vehicle. Since the Hummer is an electric vehicle, its role will not be necessary once Extreme E commits to hydrogen.

“We sincerely thank Extreme E for welcoming our GMC Hummer EV entry as part of their innovative series and look forward to following the series’ growth,” reads a CGR statement. “We will be watching closely as the series, and its technical partners continue to push motorsports in their move upward and into a modernised off-road hydrogen-powered race car for 2025 and beyond.”

One of two U.S.-based outfits on the grid, the team débuted in 2021 with an all-American driver lineup of Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price. They finished eighth in points and failed to podium in their first year, but broke through in 2022 when they won the first Island X Prix. LeDuc exited the series before the final round of 2022 to undergo cancer treatment and fellow short course star RJ Anderson filled in, bringing them home fourth in the championship.

Anderson and Amanda Sorensen comprised CGR’s final driver lineup in 2023. They finished fifth in the standings with a pair of podiums in Scotland and Sardinia.

“General Motors have been important ambassadors for our electric racing series, however as we transition towards a hydrogen-powered future it’s a logical move for them to concentrate on continuing their efforts in the electric market,” explained Extreme E boss Alejandro Agag. “We wish them success in their future endeavours.

“Although Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in Season 4, we know that they are huge supporters of our unique form of off-road racing, particular with our switch to Extreme H on the horizon in 2025.”

CGR is the third 2023 team to confirm their withdrawal from Extreme E for 2024, joining ABT CUPRA XE and X44.