Genesis Magma Racing completes successful first endurance test with GMR-001 Hypercar

LE CASTELLET, France, Sept. 23, 2025 - Genesis Magma Racing have completed a successful first endurance test with the GMR-001 Hypercar, using three days (Sept. 16-18) of running at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve to test the reliability of every aspect of the car.

The visit to the Portuguese circuit, which allowed for 32 hours of continuous running, was a key step in the car’s development before its debut in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2026. The running aimed to confirm the reliability of all aspects of the car, testing them up to – and even beyond – breaking point.

“The main target of an endurance test is to put miles on the car and see what problems you can generate along the way,” explained Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer Justin Taylor. “We’re still only six or seven test days into the development of the car, so at this stage you’re hoping to have problems show up so that you have a chance to solve them.”

He continued: “I think we can be satisfied with the outcomes from the test. We did a lot of mileage, but we’re very early in the development of the car, so we were learning something new with every stint, which we can take away and on to our next tests.” 

Time in the car was shared between André Lotterer, Pipo Derani and new Genesis Magma Racing WEC drivers Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella, who got their first laps in the GMR-001 Hypercar as part of the test. “As a driver, you want to do good lap times so you can properly stress components with the intention of finding failures,” said Derani. “It’s a brand-new car and we need to see if the parts can last long enough. If we find any weak points, then work out what we can do to improve. Next year our big race is a 24-hours, so we try and prepare ourselves for that.” 

Relatively high temperatures – more than 30 degrees at their hottest – provided a thorough test for the GMR-001’s innovative cooling package, as well as the 3.2-liter twin-turbo V8 engine and the rest of the powertrain components. 

As the car ran throughout the night, attention also focused on the illumination provided by the specially designed headlights, which echo the Two-Line design of Genesis brand road cars. The spread and quality of the light thrown out are critical in the WEC’s longer events, giving the drivers the confidence to push in all conditions.

“We quickly realized that our lights are very good,” said André Lotterer, who was the first driver to climb aboard after sunset. “It is very satisfying, because I know it’s been a big topic. We decided to develop our own lights to keep the Genesis design identity, but we knew we also needed the quality. So that was very positive to be able to sign off so easily.”

During the long-distance running, drivers completed double or even triple-stints at the wheel of the GMR-001. The long periods in the cockpit – especially on such a physically demanding track as the undulating Portimão circuit – allowed them to provide important feedback on driver comfort. The same long stints allowed engineers to gather data needed to efficiently manage race stints. The team could measure the tire wear of different compounds in different track temperatures and manage the amount of energy to match the levels mandated by the WEC regulations.

Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella arrived at the test following their confirmation as part of Genesis Magma Racing’s WEC driver line-up. The two drivers, who have been racing in LMP2 as part of the Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory program quickly adapted to the more powerful GMR-001 in their first stints, supporting the decision to add them to the Hypercar line-up. Their feedback brought new perspectives but also backed up the earlier feedback provided by André and Pipo – confirming the direction taken by the team.

“Driving the GMR-001 Hypercar for the first time was something very special,” said Jaubert. “It’s very powerful, much more powerful than anything else I’ve driven, but it is easy to drive. It’s easy to find the rhythm in it. It was like I was dreaming. Since I was very young, I’ve aimed to enter the highest class of the endurance racing, and I’m very happy to be there and to share the car with amazing drivers such as Dani, Pipo and André.”

“I think as new drivers to the project Mathys and I can support a lot with feedback” said Juncadella. “Even though I have no experience in the Hypercar class, I do have a lot of experience in endurance racing with different manufacturers, so I’ve been working in high-performance environments for many years in my career and can bring those different experiences to the development.”

Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini said: “Mathys and Dani were very enthusiastic to jump in the GMR-001 Hypercar because it was their first time in the car. They really enjoyed their stints. They did a great job, especially as this track is very tough for driver fatigue in this type of car, and provided very good feedback to help confirm our early development.”

The next steps of testing place more emphasis on extracting maximum performance from the GMR-001 in all conditions, before combining this with further endurance runs and full operational tests to prepare the team for their race debut. 

“Our next tests are going to be more adding performance. We’re going to have more opportunities to change calibrations, change software, change parts and then just keep on pushing. Then we get to put that through our next endurance test,” said Taylor.