SpeedSUVs.com — The historic asphalt of the Circuit de la Sarthe holds a century of stories. Geologists studying the track’s history could extract a layered core sample from iconic locations like Tertre Rouge, Arnage, or Indianapolis to find a physical timeline of motorsport triumph. At the very bottom of such a sample, one would find the rubber left by André Lagache and René Léonard, the inaugural victors of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Moving upward through the decades, the layers would reveal traces left by legendary figures like Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Jochen Rindt, and Ken Miles. Heavyweights like Porsche, Ford, and Ferrari have laid down millimeters of tarmac history over their long racing careers. Now, Genesis Magma Racing has added its own rubber to this legendary track with the debut of its GMR-001 hypercar at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
By entering this grueling daylong event, Genesis established itself as the first and only South Korean car manufacturer to compete in the prestigious endurance race. The team completed the intense 24-hour challenge with one of its two cars successfully crossing the finish line. While finishing a race might sound like a basic goal to casual observers, in top-tier motorsport, every single hour of continuous running represents a massive achievement. It is the culmination of endless research, engineering development, and trial-and-error testing. This achievement is particularly remarkable considering that only 18 months prior to the race, Genesis Magma Racing did not even exist.
The Rapid Assembly of a World-Class Motorsport Team
The journey from an empty drawing board to a fully functional LMDh-compliant hypercar program was completed at a breakneck pace. The fledgling team had to handle everything from recruiting top-tier talent and designing complex vehicle subsystems to managing the immense logistical hurdles of competing in an international racing series. During the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, observers had the chance to ask Cyril Abiteboul, the team principal of Genesis Magma Racing, about the immense effort required to go from a blank sheet of paper to hitting 214 mph on the famous Mulsanne straight in less than 600 days.
Managing high-level motorsport programs is a familiar task for Cyril Abiteboul. He began his professional career in Formula 1, starting as an intern and working his way up to become the deputy managing director of Renault Sport F1. He also spent time as the team principal for Caterham F1 between 2012 and 2014. Following a period serving as an advisor for the motorsport engineering firm Mecachrome, Abiteboul transitioned to rally racing, joining the Hyundai World Rally Team as team principal in 2023. Under his leadership, driver Thierry Neuville won the World Rally Championship Drivers’ Championship in 2024, securing Hyundai’s first-ever WRC driver’s title. This success led to Abiteboul’s promotion to president of Hyundai Motorsport and team principal of the newly formed Genesis Magma Racing World Endurance Championship team.
According to Abiteboul, the foundation of the entire project was finding the right people. The team focused heavily on gathering top talent with the right mindset, organizational culture, and technical partnerships. This strategy of securing experienced leadership extended across the entire executive roster of Genesis Magma Racing.
An Elite Leadership Roster
The leadership team assembled for Genesis Magma Racing brought a wealth of top-tier motorsport experience to the table, helping the new program avoid many of the common mistakes that plague inexperienced teams. The roster includes several key industry veterans:
- Cyril Abiteboul (Team Principal): Oversees the overall operations, bringing his extensive experience from Formula 1 and his championship-winning tenure at Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship.
- Gabriele Tarquini (Sporting Director): Spent six years competing in Formula 1 before transitioning to touring car racing, where he secured both British and European championship titles.
- Justin Taylor (Chief Engineer): Offers a deep background in race engineering across multiple high-profile disciplines, including recent roles with Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar and Ferrari AF Corse in the World Endurance Championship.
- Jacky Ickx (Race Advisor): A legendary six-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a titan of motorsport, providing invaluable guidance to the newly formed team.
Strategic Partnerships and the LMDh Platform
A key element of the team’s rapid development was its strategic partnership with Oreca, a highly respected chassis manufacturer. When entering the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, teams must choose between two regulatory pathways. They can either develop a fully custom chassis from scratch under the LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) regulations or build their car around a pre-homologated chassis spine under the LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) ruleset.
To streamline development and meet their aggressive timeline, Genesis Magma Racing chose the LMDh route, utilizing an existing Oreca chassis as the foundation for the GMR-001. This partnership was officially announced in December 2024. The alliance also allowed Genesis Magma Racing to conduct valuable reconnaissance work at the Circuit de la Sarthe during the 2025 Le Mans event, where they entered an LMP2 car in collaboration with IDEC Sport to study the track and gather operational data.
Pragmatic Powertrain Engineering
Developing a custom racing engine from scratch is a highly expensive and time-consuming process. To remain pragmatic and efficient, the engineering team looked to Hyundai Motorsport’s existing assets. Instead of designing a completely new engine, they utilized their successful World Rally Championship technology.
The engineers combined two of Hyundai’s race-proven 1.6-liter inline-four-cylinder engines to create a unique 3.2-liter twin-turbo V-8. This combined engine was designed to handle the brutal conditions of a 24-hour endurance race, which covers over 3,100 miles of continuous, flat-out driving. By the time the powertrain was built, integrated into the Oreca chassis, and started for the first time, the team had less than a year left before the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A Demanding Global Testing Campaign
With the physical car built, the team faced the daunting task of validating the entire package. Testing a car over short distances is vastly different from preparing it for a continuous 24-hour race. Despite not yet having all of the advanced simulation and test bench facilities they desired, the team utilized their internal resources to find solutions.
Over an eight-month period, the GMR-001 underwent an intensive global testing program to prepare for competition:
- Circuit Paul Ricard (France): A five-day initial shakedown at the team’s home base to check basic systems and construction.
- Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain): A three-day test focusing on engine management, software integration, and system reliability.
- Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (Portugal): A grueling 32-hour continuous endurance test designed to push the chassis, engine, and components to their absolute structural limits.
The early testing sessions were used to resolve minor structural and software issues, while the later endurance runs allowed the team to refine the car’s handling balance and evaluate overall component durability.
Early Success in the World Endurance Championship
The extensive testing program paid off when the team arrived for the opening round of the 2026 World Endurance Championship at Imola in April. The debut was a success for the new manufacturer. The No. 17 car managed to run as high as 10th place during the early stages of the race, and both entries successfully crossed the finish line, placing 15th and 17th after six hours of competitive racing.
The team built on this momentum at the following round at Spa-Francorchamps. In only their second competitive outing, the No. 17 car secured an eighth-place finish, earning the team’s very first championship points. These early races provided the engineering team with critical real-world data and allowed them to practice pit stops and race strategy under true competitive conditions before heading to the main event in June.
The Ultimate Challenge at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans
When the team arrived at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the atmosphere was a mix of tension and optimism. As the engines fired up and the cars began their formation lap before the 4 p.m. start, the team felt a strong sense of pride in bringing a South Korean manufacturer to the grid. However, once the green flag waved, the reality of competing against established factory programs became clear. Over the opening hours, the two GMR-001 hypercars began to lose ground to highly experienced competitors like Toyota, Ferrari, BMW, and Cadillac.
Early on Sunday morning, the team suffered a major setback. The No. 17 car, driven by Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert, and André Lotterer, suffered a front suspension failure. The car was forced back to the garage, where it ultimately had to be retired from the race. Despite this disappointment, the sister car kept fighting.
Eight hours after the retirement of the No. 17 car, the No. 19 GMR-001, driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, Mathieu Jaminet, and Dani Juncadella, successfully crossed the finish line. They secured a 13th-place finish, marking the first successful 24-hour race completion for Genesis Magma Racing.
Humility and Future Ambitions
During the final hour of the race, team advisor Jacky Ickx shared his perspective on the team’s debut. He emphasized the importance of humility in endurance racing, noting that every small mistake and technical failure is a necessary part of the learning process. He expressed pride in the fact that the team had successfully built a competitive program and completed the race in such a short period.
Finishing the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the primary objective for Genesis Magma Racing. For a team that was merely a concept less than two years ago, completing the race and competing alongside the world’s most established manufacturers represents a significant milestone. Regardless of what lies ahead for Genesis Magma Racing, their debut performance has earned them a place in the history of the world’s most famous endurance race.
