- Genesis Magma Racing will make their FIA World Endurance Championship debut at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
- The bumpy and technical Imola circuit presents particular challenges to the team who will build upon the experience from a test at the track in February
- The team’s focus will be on managing aspects of the race weekend they can control, bringing both GMR-001 Hypercar to the finish with minimal issues
Frankfurt, Germany, 10 April 2026: Genesis Magma Racing will make its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the 6 Hours of Imola less than 500 days after publicly announcing their intent to enter the series. Though the team is satisfied with the progress made during testing, the event at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari represents a new step, joining the established teams and manufacturers of the grid on track for the first time.
Race debut builds on foundations laid during testing
The team’s main focus is on building on the foundations laid during the 25,000km of track testing completed by the team with the car since August 2025. Recognising the scale of the challenge of joining the highly competitive championship, Genesis Magma Racing places a two-car finish high on its list of goals for the race while focusing on managing aspects of race weekend operation that lie fully within its control.
The change to the WEC calendar gave Genesis Magma Racing an extra three weeks to prepare for its first event at the highest level of endurance racing. The team’s engineers took full advantage of the opportunity as they have done throughout the testing and development of the GMR-001 Hypercar.
Final preparations for the race debut included a day of testing at the Imola circuit – something that was planned prior to the calendar alterations. As well as giving the team an opportunity to simulate race runs on a WEC racetrack, the running with two cars provided the drivers with a chance to establish a base set-up for the car, which they can work from during the Prologue test and Free Practice sessions.
This is especially important for the technical demands of the Imola circuit, including a need to ride bumps and kerbs well to make the most of the power from the GMR-001 Hypercar’s G8MR 3.2l Turbo V8 engine.
Both of the team’s entries will be shared by three drivers – Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert and André Lotterer sharing the ‘liquid metal’ liveried #17, with Paul-Loup Chatin, Mathieu Jaminet and Dani Juncadella in the predominantly black #19 GMR-001 Hypercar.
Genesis Magma Racing Team Management Quotes
Cyril Abiteboul, Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal said: “The FIA World Endurance Championship weekend at Imola is a huge moment for Genesis Magma Racing, and Genesis as a manufacturer. I am very proud of the work we have done as a team to reach this occasion, and I am personally very proud of the faith placed in us by our Chair, Vice Chair, and Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke to take Genesis racing. As a new entrant, we know that we are not in a position to pursue performance at the start of the season. Instead, our focus will be on things we can control in our reliability and operations, making sure we can do the small things right first, before we can expect performance and race results. A successful weekend in Imola will be if we get both our GMR-001 Hypercar to the finish with minimal technical problems or penalties, and the entire team working well together. Once the race starts, I’ll be nervously waiting for the chequered flag – certainly not for the last time with Genesis Magma Racing.”
Gabriele Tarquini, Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director said: “Imola is not just a race weekend for Genesis Magma Racing, but our first ever race. It’s a very important moment in our history. The entire team is excited to start, and once we begin I’m sure we will find even more motivation for the season. Even after a long time for testing – even if any time spent testing is never enough – we really miss the stress and adrenaline of real competition. Our goal for the first race is to put both GMR-001 Hypercar on the grid with no mistakes, and to finish the race with both cars. This is the first step for us to climb, and I want to see how our drivers, who worked together very well during testing, will perform in a race situation. We know that our competitors are very strong and very experienced, but I am sure we have everything we need to start fighting with them very soon.”
Justin Taylor, Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer said: “Imola is a unique circuit, not only because of its history but also some of its characteristics, namely the kerbs and bumps. To be fast in Imola means using the kerbs and absorbing the bumps, which means a compromise on the aerodynamics. We gained invaluable experience at the track during a test in February and will be building on that foundation during the official Prologue, focusing on adapting the GMR-001 Hypercar to the challenges of a full WEC event with other Hypercar and LMGT3 traffic, something impossible to test otherwise. There’s a mix of feelings about finally going racing after an intense development. Obviously, anxiety coming from the uncertainty of how the car will perform when compared to the rest of the field. At the same time, we have great excitement to cross a significant milestone to where lap times and results matter.”
Driver Quotes - #17 GMR-001 Hypercar
Pipo Derani said: “The additional month before the start of the season was definitely helpful for us. On the other hand, we would have preferred to race in Qatar as it would have provided an extra 10-hour race before Le Mans. Imola is one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar, making it a significant test for us as a team for our first race. If we perform well at Imola, it should boost confidence for the next rounds. I believe our first target is to finish without any major issues. I'm not setting any expectations. I want us to focus on doing well with the things we can control. If we succeed in that, we might end up with a positive outcome. From a personal perspective, my goal is to accomplish small wins each day and review the weekend with the sense that we worked effectively as a team. There will be moments we might consider as under-performance, but recognising those areas will be important for our development.”
Mathys Jaubert said: “The test we completed at Imola gives us a strong foundation heading into the race weekend. It allowed us to define key elements such as the gearbox ratios, work on setup, and for us drivers to get comfortable with the track, but without traffic. The Prologue will be especially valuable, particularly for me as a rookie, to adapt to traffic management with the GT3 cars. It will also give us our first real benchmark against the other teams and help us understand our strengths and areas to improve, giving our first true indicator of where we stand. The priority will be to stay consistent, avoid mistakes, and not pick up any penalties. It will also be important to identify any weaknesses in the car so we can improve for the upcoming races and build a strong foundation for the season. On my side, the focus will be on delivering a clean and consistent race, avoiding errors, and staying in the right rhythm throughout my stints. Being on the pace is key, and I’m confident we will be there.”
André Lotterer said: “Imola is one of the tightest tracks on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar. It is very demanding in terms of traffic management and quite busy for the drivers. The baseline set-up we have for the GMR-001 Hypercar is quite good, but you need a very particular set-up for Imola. It is one of the bumpiest tracks we visit and requires a car that is nimble and able to go on the kerbs and absorb the bumps. As a driver, you always try to maximise what you have, but in this case we don’t know what we have compared to the competition, so it will be a revelation to see where we are. We don’t have crazy expectations. We want to finish the race and gain as much experience as possible. We’ll focus on ourselves and our solutions and learn as much as we can so we can continue to build the team and leave Imola stronger. We’ll see our weaknesses, but the more we see them, the clearer our solutions will be, so we can address them quickly.”
Driver Quotes - #19 GMR-001 Hypercar
Paul-Loup Chatin said: “I’m very pleased to see the 2026 season finally getting underway. It represents the start of a new personal challenge for me, but also a significant milestone for everyone at Genesis Magma Racing. Since the team was announced in December 2024, the entire team has worked relentlessly and made the most of every second. I’m extremely proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time. Imola marks the first step of this new chapter. The circuit increases the level of difficulty due to its characteristics, particularly the bumps and aggressive kerbs, which require specific qualities from the car. It’s a real challenge that will teach us a lot for the rest of the programme. Our primary goal will be to focus on ourselves and execute a clean race from start to finish. We are not facing a single mountain, but an entire mountain range. It will be essential to remain humble and united throughout this journey if we want to reach our objectives.”
Mathieu Jaminet said: “I’m super excited to finally go racing. It’s been a while since I had the chance to race against someone, and I think it’s the same for my team-mates. I’m looking forward to starting the season, the competition, and seeing where we are. Starting Imola after Qatar was postponed could be seen as a good and bad thing for us. It would have been interesting to see where we were compared to the competition already in Qatar, but it gave us more time to prepare, which we took full advantage of. For me, Imola is one of the highlights of the calendar. It’s a very old-school track. It’s fast, really demanding for the car, so I’m looking forward to driving there and seeing how close – or far – we are from the top runners. The main target is to finish the race with no technical issues, no penalties and we can build from there. Get some mileage, learn more about the car, and get the team working together.”
Dani Juncadella said: “Starting the season in Imola is quite a challenge as a driver, and for the whole Genesis Magma Racing team. It’s a very challenging track, very technical as a driver and very narrow, so it’s going to be fascinating managing the GT traffic, which will be a first for me. We got the chance to test at the circuit and make a few laps, which gave us a bit of a head start to know what’s coming. To be fair the aim for the weekend is go step by step, day by day with the Prologue test, practice, qualifying and race. For me, it’s my debut in Hypercar, so I’m massively excited, but I’m not expecting much in terms of results, although that’s not our main focus. There’s a lot of things we need to work on before focusing on pure results. I’m very excited to start the journey with my two team-mates in the #19 GMR-001 Hypercar. Imola is a great place to kick-start the season. It’s going to be hectic, and let’s see if the weather also plays a role. There’s going to be a lot happening.”
