In December, Genesis unveiled its motorsports division, Genesis Magma Racing (GMR), and outlined its plans to compete in the premier Hypercar and GTP classes of the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship with a newly developed LMDh race car, the GMR-001 Hypercar.
At the time, Genesis announced its goal to have the GMR-001 Hypercar completed by the 2026 season of the World Endurance Championship, with the renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans being the key event. An entry into the SportsCar Championship is anticipated to follow in 2027.
This timeline is quite ambitious, as Genesis has only 18 months to gear up for Le Mans, which typically takes place in June. Notably, development work on the project is still in the early stages. According to Road & Track, Genesis currently possesses only a half-scale model of the GMR-001 Hypercar, recently unveiled earlier this month.
Fortunately for Genesis, the LMDh regulations stipulate that race cars must utilize chassis from approved manufacturers, giving it a beneficial head start. The team has chosen to adopt a chassis from Oreca, which is also employed by Acura and Alpine. Acura has previously achieved notable victories with this chassis in the SportsCar Championship.
Logo of Genesis Magma Racing
To expedite development, certain compromises will be made concerning the powertrain, according to Cyril Abiteboul, the former Caterham and Renault Formula 1 team manager and the current principal of GMR. Instead of modifying a powertrain from the Genesis lineup, the team plans to combine two inline-4 engines from Hyundai’s successful World Rally Championship program to create a V-8.
Despite the pressing timeline, Genesis will not collaborate with an established racing team for this initiative. Toyota stands out as the only rival team in the current top-level endurance racing era that has secured a race victory without a partner.
The initial confirmed drivers for Genesis’ racing program include Le Mans winner and current World Endurance Drivers’ Champion André Lotterer and Pipo Derani. Both will be involved in the car’s development through 2025 and beyond, alongside Jacky Ickx, a six-time Le Mans champion who became a brand ambassador for Genesis in February. The first track shakedown is expected to take place in mid-2025.
In addition, Genesis plans to collaborate with the French racing team IDEC Sport to launch a driver development program. This initiative will kick off next year with an LMP2 entry in the European Le Mans Series. Among the first participants will be America’s Logan Sargeant, who was recently released from the Williams F1 team, as well as Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert.
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