Jordan Grand Prix has signed a supply agreement with ATI Technologies Inc. of Markham, Ontario, Canada*. ATI is a world leader in the supply of graphics, video and multimedia solutions for desktop personal computers, mobile computing, DTV, cell phones, handhelds, consoles and workstation products.

The utilisation of ATI’s FireGLTM workstation graphics cards supports Jordan Grand Prix’s recent implementation of a Dassault Systems CATIA V5 design solution running on the latest generation of PC workstations under Microsoft Windows®. Jordan’s IT team carefully evaluated and tested a variety of competing products before selecting ATI’s award winning FireGL workstation graphics hardware to install in 60 new CAD workstations being used in its design office.

Dr James Henderson, Head of IT at Jordan Grand Prix said “F1 racing is incredibly rich in information. At Jordan our challenge is to ensure that we use technology and computers to bring that richness into play to get more from tyres, chassis and driver.” He adds “In the relentless annual cycle of Formula 1, we cannot and will not be compromised on the two most important factors: performance and reliability. It is not difficult to make things go fast, whether a network or a CAD workstation. Its difficult to make them go fast reliably” He adds “The right choice of 3D workstation graphics accelerator is fundamental in this respect”.

During the workstation graphics card evaluation Jordan found ATI’s FireGL met and exceeded their pre-requisites for both function and ease of use. Adrian Collinson, IT Analyst at Jordan Grand Prix said “ In making our decision, we were looking for performance, stability and value-for-money. We have all of those in FireGL.”

The design team at Jordan come under huge amounts of pressure to complete actions by certain deadlines. CAD Manager Mike McGee said “Daily, we are dealing with 3D assembly models of between five and five hundred quite complex parts. In the past, the dynamic manipulation of such large assemblies was slow and imprecise. With FireGL, I can honestly say that all our graphics performance issues have been solved.”

"The Jordan team demands excellence day in and day out from its team and the expectations placed on FireGL workstation graphics accelerators are no exception," said Dave Rolston, Vice President, Workstation and Embedded Products, ATI. "ATI focuses on the needs of these design professionals, delivering stability and performance they can rely on to ensure optimal results."

ATI Technologies has been an industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world’s foremost visual processor unit (VPU) provider and is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld markets. With 2003 revenues in excess of US $1.3 billion, ATI has more than 2,700 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).

Jordan Grand Prix are proud of their new association with such an innovative organisation and look forward to working closely with ATI.

*The supply of ATI FireGLTM Workstation Graphics cards to Jordan Grand Prix was initiated in May 2004.