Claude Rouelle is a high performance and vehicle designer, research and development engineer with over 30 years of experience in design, test and automotive engineering.

Claude started in vehicle engineering when he earned his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Institute Gramme, Belgium in 1978. His thesis, for which he got the highest distinction possible, discussed the design and construction of a formula car and its test in a wind tunnel.

A few months after graduation, Claude decided to put his theories to the test. He created his own company designing, testing, building and selling Formula Fords. Throughout those five years, he gained hands-on experience in racecar design, construction techniques, and in the research and development of car handling.

From 1983 to 1987, he worked as a race engineer for Volvo, Toyota and Alfa Romeo in the European Touring Car Championship and the European Rally Championship.  Claude then had the opportunity to work for the French Formula 3 team Oreca, winning two titles and 15 out of 24 possible races in his two years with the team.  In 1991, he served as the development engineer for the AGS Formula One team, and then went on to be the Reynard racing cars’ technical representative in Japan and the technical advisor for Apomatox Formula 3000 team.  In 1993, Claude moved to the IndyLite series, finishing second in the championship and winning the title in 1996.  During the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Claude moved up to CART. 

Throughout his career, Claude worked as a race engineer, technical adviser and manager on dozens of circuits and rallies with various drivers and cars, from open wheeled F1 and CART cars to Touring Cars, endurance cars to sprint cars.

In 1997, Claude created OptimumG, a consulting company that teaches racecar engineering and data acquisition to individuals and small groups through seminars organized worldwide.  He also organizes seminars for companies like Ford, GM, Daimler Chrysler, Goodyear, Michelin, AP Racing, Dynamics, and several high performance and racecar component manufacturers.

He is a frequent lecturer at the Ecole Supérieure des Techniques Aéronautiques et de Constructions Automobiles in Paris, France and the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. As a mentor of several students in Europe and the United States, he has supervised several theses related to suspension kinematics, aerodynamics, tire traction and simulation.

In parallel with his on track activities, Claude has always believed in understanding the "why", the "how" and the "how much" of racecar performance, not just the "what".

Credentials
Master Engineering Degree
Institute Gramme,
Liege, Belgium

30 years of race engineering experience in F-1, CART, Indy Lites, Formula 3, ALMS, NASCAR, European & Japanese Touring Cars & Australian V8 Supercars

Acclaimed International teacher: Vehicles Dynamics & Data Acquisition Seminar supported by MoTeC, conducted over 300 seminars, thousands of satisfied attendees

Dozens of in-house engineering seminars for major corporations engaged in motorsports.

Contact

If you would like to contact Claude Rouelle, please email him at engineering@optimumg.com.