GENESIS MAGMA RACING RECORDS ITS STRONGEST WEC FINISH AT LONE STAR LE MANS

Genesis Magma Racing’s first visit to the Circuit of the Americas produced its strongest FIA World Endurance Championship result of the 2026 season. At Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, Texas, the #17 GMR-001 Hypercar shared by Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert and André Lotterer crossed the line seventh after six hours of racing, recovering from an early incident and subsequent penalty to return to the top ten.

The #17 car’s race was far less straightforward than its eventual finishing position suggests. André Lotterer began from eighth on the grid after Mathys Jaubert’s qualifying performance and immediately gained ground, moving into fifth during the opening lap. The start itself had already been complicated by rain during the pre-race ceremonies, which led to two additional formation laps before the field was released.

Lotterer continued to press forward, but an attempted move for third place at the end of the back straight ended with contact and a spin. The incident sent the GMR-001 towards the rear of the Hypercar field and resulted in a five-second penalty, leaving the team with a substantial recovery task. Rather than allowing the setback to define the race, the #17 crew shifted towards managing its tyres and energy while steadily rebuilding its position.

The turning point came during Pipo Derani’s double stint. A Safety Car period compressed the field and helped Genesis Magma Racing recover some of the ground lost earlier in the race. After Lotterer returned for a second single stint, another opportunity arrived with just over an hour remaining. A Virtual Safety Car allowed the team to make a strategically efficient pit stop, changing only the left-side tyres before Mathys Jaubert took over for the final stint.

Jaubert, the youngest driver in the Hypercar class, was then tasked with holding position against a field that included considerably more experienced opposition. The strategic compromise was significant: while some of his rivals had four fresh tyres, the #17 GMR-001 had received only two. Even so, Jaubert remained in contention through the closing stages, eventually moving into eighth after a battle through traffic. A subsequent penalty for the #12 Cadillac elevated the Genesis entry to seventh.

That seventh-place finish marks an improvement on the eighth place achieved at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May and gives the team its best WEC result to date. It also represents the second points-scoring finish of its inaugural campaign.

The second Genesis entry, the #19 GMR-001 driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, Mathieu Jaminet and Dani Juncadella, completed the weekend with a 15th-place finish. Its race was shaped by the timing of the final Safety Car, which fell outside the car’s pit-stop window and required a further stop after the restart. Jaminet nevertheless maintained the car on the lead lap during a particularly intense final hour, allowing both Genesis Hypercars to reach the chequered flag.

For Genesis Magma Racing, the weekend was therefore about more than a single finishing position. Its performance at COTA followed development and testing work carried out during the summer break, with the team using the time away from competition to refine both the car and its operational approach. The result suggests that those preparations are beginning to translate into greater consistency when the pressure of a full WEC weekend returns.

The setting was appropriate for such a test. Circuit of the Americas combines long straights with technical sections and significant elevation changes, while the Texas heat adds another layer to the physical and mechanical demands of a six-hour endurance race. For a new Hypercar programme, maintaining performance across changing conditions is as important as outright speed. At Lone Star Le Mans, Genesis demonstrated both, particularly in the way its #17 entry recovered after losing ground early in the race.

Genesis itself is a relatively young marque in the luxury automotive landscape. Hyundai Motor formally launched Genesis as a standalone global luxury brand in November 2015, with the brand introduced in Seoul as an independent marque positioned around performance, design and a more human-centred luxury experience. Its first dedicated model under the Genesis name was the G90, unveiled in December that same year. The brand describes its identity as rooted in Korean heritage, hospitality, craftsmanship and a philosophy of challenging established expectations.

That relatively recent beginning makes Genesis Magma Racing’s arrival in the WEC particularly notable. Endurance racing demands a different form of automotive development: performance must coexist with reliability, strategic discipline and the ability to sustain a competitive car over hours rather than minutes. The GMR-001 Hypercar is now providing Genesis with a demanding environment in which to develop those capabilities at the highest level of international endurance competition. The FIA WEC lists the GMR-001 as Genesis Magma Racing’s Hypercar entry for the 2026 championship.

Away from the circuit, Genesis continues to maintain its retail presence across the UAE. Its current official Middle East dealer information lists showrooms in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sheikh Zayed Road and Deira in Dubai, as well as Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. The locations are also available through the brand’s official dealer-finder and customer booking platforms.

Lone Star Le Mans ultimately offered Genesis Magma Racing something more valuable than a clean result sheet alone: evidence of progression. The #17 GMR-001 had to recover, adapt, and conserve before it could attack again, while the #19 car’s completion ensured that both entries finished on the lead lap. In endurance racing, where progress is often measured in the accumulation of small gains, seventh place at COTA feels less like an endpoint than a clear indication of where the programme is beginning to go.