24h Le Mans
Earlier this month, Oreca’s south of France workshop was the stage for the successful fire-up of the GMR-001, the Genesis Magma Racing hypercar. This represents a key phase in the South Korean manufacturer’s programme that is expected to lead to a FIA World Endurance Championship entry in 2026. The final construction phase is now underway, ahead of the first track tests in August.
Genesis Magma Racing reached a crucial stage in its Hypercar programme on 9 July, with the first fire-up of the GMR-001 at Le Castellet site in the south of France. This landmark step launches the final phase of the development chassis build process carried out at partner Oreca’s premises. The maiden track outing is slated for late August and that will in turn signal the start of an intensive testing programme with a view to homologation in time for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.
The initial fire-up was completed smoothly and on time, underlining the efficiency of a schedule that has been planned for several months. “In a project like this, you have certain dates circled and this was one of them,” said Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. “The car fire-up was the GMR-001 coming to life – a huge step in the story of Genesis Magma Racing. To reach this point on schedule is already a huge achievement and a perfect way to start the next stage of the development process.”
The entire powertrain, including the hybrid system, was tested on this occasion. Engineers ran the engine through its full rev range in each of the seven gears while testing battery recharging from the engine and the transfer of energy to the rear driveshafts – the set-up that will be used on the track.
Development work on the powertrain began in June 2024. It is based on an engine designed initially for the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). It was first fired up in February 2025 and has since undergone several bench tests to bring it up to the expected performance levels. Its successful integration into the chassis paves the way to the next phase of full-scale testing, starting with the first track run planned for late August.
Work on building the GMR-001 chassis began immediately after the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is conducted by Oreca, with engineers from Genesis Magma Racing and Hyundai Motorsport involved at key stages. Close three-way collaboration has been vital in ensuring that the tight development schedule required to be on the grid in 2026 is not derailed.
“The car build has been about bringing everything together – all the expertise we have within Genesis Magma Racing and at ORECA,” said Genesis Magma Racing Technical Director François-Xavier Demaison. “It’s now when we can start physically connecting all the different strands of development work that we’ve been following for the last year with our Powertrain and Design teams. The successful GMR-001 fire-up is confirmation of our work so far, but also the start of the next stage of the development that comes with testing.”
The final construction phase is now in progress. Once finalised, this development chassis will be rolled onto the test track before additional chassis builds are produced to ramp up the technical validation process. The target is to prepare the GMR-001 for homologation for its début FIA WEC season… with Genesis Magma Racing’s sights firmly set on the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
