Last week, Genesis Magma Racing conducted three days of testing at Magny-Cours. The track being mostly wet, it offered the team a golden opportunity to glean precious data on the balance and behaviour of the GMR-001 in such conditions. With the systems calibrated and an initial endurance test already under its belt, Genesis was able to focus on optimising the performance levels of the Korean hypercar.

“We’re continuing to develop the GMR-001, but we are starting to think about performance,” said Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini. “We need to build a sort of toolbox for the set-up in all conditions, making sure the drivers are able to adjust the car to always be able to push in any conditions.”

The four drivers already signed up to Genesis Magma Racing for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (Pipo Derani, André Lotterer, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella) were present for the tests. “I think we have made big progress on the systems side,” Derani said. “As we get to the part of the development where things have been stabilised, we can switch focus to getting the maximum from the package we have in the GMR-001 Hypercar and begin to look at performance a bit more.”

Rain right on cue

Genesis Magma Racing had hoped to gather data on the GMR-001’s wet-track performance and Mother Nature duly obliged on the second day. “Wet weather testing is always important with any new car,” Tarquini explained. “We know we will face wet conditions in some races. As it could easily be the biggest race of the year, so the team and drivers need to know how the car reacts in difficult conditions.”

Jaubert added: “The car was really nice in the wet conditions. We did some running in damp conditions, but also when it was really wet during the night. Overall, we made a lot of systems improvements in the traction control. It’s difficult to compare because we are the only ones on track, but the car balance feels great.”

The relatively cool air and track temperatures also offered an excellent opportunity to build experience with Michelin tyres in very different weather conditions to those encountered during previous tests. Tyre warming is especially important in the Hypercar class and Genesis made the most of the sessions to put it into practice. “We still want to do a lot more kilometres, but this was a very positive three days,” Tarquini concluded. “Everybody is happy about the car’s behaviour in the wet, and the drivers were able to give good feedback. We had some small problems which we were fast to solve, and we know the direction to go for the next tests which will be very important.”

With the homologation process on the GMR-001 fast approaching, Genesis reckons there is still plenty of work to do. Reliability and performance will be the targets for the final tests which will also serve as a dress rehearsal for the team's race weekend procedures in preparation for its FIA WEC début at the Qatar 1812Km (28 March 2026). By the time the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans comes around (10-14 June 2026), Genesis will hope to be in shape to take on Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot and Toyota.