- Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory programme drivers Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella took a fantastic overall victory in France to continue their excellent start to the European Le Mans Series season
- Chadwick drove brilliantly in a chaotic opening stint after rain hit the track at the start of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet
- Strategic decision kept Dani Juncadella out on wet tyres longer than rivals, but risk paid off after Jaubert took overall lead with 60-minutes remaining
- Jaubert resisted late pressure to take the victory, adding to the team’s LMP2 class win at the opening race of the season in Barcelona
- The three drivers and team are now top of the LMP2 standings on 50 points after two of the season’s six race weekends
- The result at the home race of the IDEC Sport squad responsible for running the #18 car capped off a week when the team celebrated their tenth anniversary
Frankfurt, Germany, 4 May 2025: Drivers Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert and Daniel Juncadella added to their sensational start to the European Le Mans Series, scoring overall victory by two seconds at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard – following their LMP2 class win at the season opener in Barcelona. The pace of Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory drivers Chadwick, Jaubert and Juncadella combined with intelligent strategic decisions made in changing weather delivered the stellar result.
Team avoids trouble in difficult conditions to take victory
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet got off to a dramatic start. The formation laps were completed on an already greasy track, but the rain intensified just as the green flag flew. Chadwick, starting the race from fourth place, earned by Jaubert in Saturday’s qualifying session, got an almost immediate taste of how difficult the conditions were. Under acceleration from turn two the #18 IDEC Sport-run car broke loose. Chadwick, who became the first female overall winner in ELMS competition, held on to the car, rejoining the race.
Called in by the team, led by a Race Engineer from Genesis Magma Racing, she was one of the first drivers to switch from slick to wet tyres. Avoiding the chaos that afflicted many others in treacherous conditions, the decision lifted Chadwick into fifth where she kept pace with the lead group.
The rain remained for the start of Dani Juncadella’s middle stint, but the session became more complicated as the track began to dry. At a first stop, the team refuelled the car but kept the same increasingly worn set of wet tyres on the car. The decision looked like a mistake, as those teams stopping a few laps later for slicks were soon faster than Juncadella on track and, when he did pit to hand over to Mathys Jaubert on dry weather tyres, it dropped the team from the podium battle to fifth.
However, the earlier call paid off. When the teams ahead were all forced into a pitstop just before the final hour of the race, due to the regulations governing a driver’s minimum drive time, Jaubert took a lead that he refused to relinquish over the remaining quarter of the race.
From the front he managed his pace to minimise the stationary time during the final stop, allowing him to return to the lead after pitting with 39 minutes remaining. He had to withstand late pressure after losing critical time overtaking slower cars, but once in clear air was able to add to his lead, taking the chequered flag just under two seconds ahead of his nearest challenger.
The result puts Chadwick, Jaubert and Juncadella, and IDEC Sport top their respective championships on a total of 50 points. The victory at Le Castellet was IDEC Sport’s first LMP2 triumph at the circuit and the perfect end to the team’s home round of the championship, where the squad celebrated their tenth anniversary at their headquarters just outside the track.
Post Race Quotes - #18 IDEC Sport Oreca 07
Jamie Chadwick said: “It was a really tricky race, conditions-wise, so it was a bit of a gamble which tyres to go on. We chose the slicks initially and I had a big moment at the exit of turn two and dropped back. It became quite clear that this race was going to be about avoiding mistakes. We called the stop of the wets at the right time. I enjoyed my stint – the car was nice, and I knew we could make a little bit of ground up from where we were. I was just trying to stay out of trouble. I knew the race would be later on for Dani and Mathys. We’ve had good performance all week here at Le Castellet. Another win is a bit surreal; it’s a bit beyond our expectations. The IDEC Sport team did an amazing job today with a really good execution of the strategy. I’m just so happy for them. What a perfect start to the year.”
Daniel Juncadella said: “It’s incredible. Two wins out of two in the European Le Mans Series. The 4 Hours of Le Castellet was another race where we executed perfectly as a team. There were no mistakes – we always made the right call even when it was very difficult with the weather, my teammates did an amazing job, and we made it happen. The conditions were tricky out there. It was my first time driving this car in the wet, it was difficult, for sure, but I really enjoyed it. I felt very confident in the car straight away. Already on my out lap I was able to make some moves and when I knew we were third I didn’t want to take any risks. I had to stay a bit longer on the wet tyres to maximise the stint time and make sure we had one stop less to the end, which was the right call from the team to give the chance to win.”
Mathys Jaubert said: “Honestly, I feel like I did nothing in my stint, I just had to finish the race. My team-mates and the team gave me the car in a perfect position. I had new slick tyres. I was able to save a bit of fuel and the car and in the end, I could push because I saw second place gaining behind me. I had a few issues with my radio, so sometimes I had no information on the gap behind me, so the end was a bit tricky, but the car was incredibly fast and now we are leading the championship win a good advantage. Now we have to see for our next race, which is the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “This weekend was another great job by everyone on the team – Genesis Magma Racing staff, IDEC Sport and all three drivers – Jamie, Dani and Mathys. Two wins in two races is great start for everyone in the Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory programme. From the outside it could look easy, but I promise it has not been the case. In both races, and especially in the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, every strategy decision had to be right, and the drivers had to handle some very difficult conditions on track, which they did really well. Everyone is working perfectly together, and we are achieving the results to show for it.”
2025 European Le Mans Series LMP2 Drivers’ Championship
After Round 2:
1 | J. Chadwick | 50 |
2 | R. Cullen | 27 |
3 | O. Gray | 26 |
2025 European Le Mans Series LMP2 Teams’ Championship
After Round 2:
| 1 | IDEC SPORT | 50 |
| 2 | Vector Sport | 27 |
| 3 | VDS Panis Racing | 26 |
| 4 | Inter Europol Competition | 20 |
| 5 | Nielsn Racing | 16 |
About Genesis
Founded in South Korea, Genesis offers premium cars with a luxury experience and is committed to delivering an exceptional service to its customers. From its European headquarters in Frankfurt, Genesis Motor Europe operates in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Since launching in Europe in 2021, the brand has received multiple company and product award wins across all three markets.
The Genesis range includes three dynamic pure electric models as well as the most recent addition, Genesis G90, the brand’s flagship luxury saloon. Central to Genesis' identity is the distinctive design language of 'Athletic Elegance', blended with the very latest technology to deliver state-of-the-art customer features. Genesis is dedicated to a sustainable future and aims to become a carbon net zero by 2035.
For more information about Genesis and its definition of premium, please visit www.genesis.com.
