Forty years ago, BMW won at the 12 Hours of Sebring for the first time with a BMW 3.0 CSL entered by the official team for Brian Redman, Allan Moffat, Sam Posey and Hans-Joachim Stuck, who will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 63rd edition of the second round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Late last month, Genesis Magma Racing conducted a first full test on its GMR-001 hypercar. This exercise marked the real starting point of an ambitious development programme that will bring Genesis to the FIA World Endurance Championship table and the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-14 June 2026).

The first test of a hypercar is not just a matter of taking it out for a jaunt around the track. It&rsquo;s the culmination of months of patient work in the design office and the assembly shop, where each component is scrutinised. The <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/genesis-takes-the-wraps-of-its-gmr-001-hypercar-59196" target="_blank">Genesis GMR-001</a>, driven by a 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8, is the result of a collaboration between Genesis Magma Racing and chassis manufacturer Oreca. &ldquo;We had a programme that we were able to follow, so that&#39;s very promising for the whole team,&rdquo; explained the team&rsquo;s Technical Director Fran&ccedil;ois-Xavier Demaison. &ldquo;At the moment, we&rsquo;re purely focused on software, especially on the powertrain. It&rsquo;s a hybrid car with many features that we need to manage properly.&rdquo; The team&rsquo;s engineers worked on calibrating the mechanical and electronic systems &ndash; a vital step in delivering power and ensuring reliability.

<h2>Firing up a&nbsp;Hypercar</h2>

When a development team rolls out a car for its first outing, it has a single aim in mind : to check that everything is working. But behind this apparently simple objective lies meticulous organisation and a lengthy job sheet. Checklists, telemetry sensors, driver briefing &ndash; nothing is left to chance.

For Genesis Magma Racing, these tests also provided an opportunity to move on from <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/genesis-fires-up-the-gmr-001-for-the-first-time-59881" target="_blank">the initial engine running test</a> to a real session on a circuit that is far more representative of those encountered in the FIA WEC. &ldquo;On our first shakedowns, there were just baby steps to see that the car could move under its own power, could shift its own gears,&rdquo; said Chief Engineer Justin Taylor. &ldquo;Now we&#39;ve been trying to push more towards being a real race car.&rdquo;

To bring a Hypercar to life, nothing beats feedback from seasoned racing drivers. Three-time Le Mans winner Andr&eacute; Lotterer and endurance specialist Pipo Derani took turns at the wheel of the GMR-001. Both offered their impressions of all the systems and suggested ways in which the car&rsquo;s performance could be further enhanced. &ldquo;The GMR-001 is obviously well born &mdash; the feedback is very natural, instinctive and it&#39;s fun to drive, but we are still working on everything,&rdquo; said Lotterer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always an unknown when you jump into a new car,&rdquo; added Derani. &ldquo;You have high expectations, but with the GMR-001 we have a good base to start working from.&rdquo;

<h2>A technical challenge</h2>

Genesis Magma Racing&rsquo;s engineers pinpointed a few issues, as expected on any first test.&nbsp; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a new car and a new engine,&rdquo;&nbsp; explained Demaison. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s normal to have issues, but we have a good team of engineers to solve them as quickly as possible.&rdquo; 
The breaks between the sessions offered the engineers a window to work closely with their colleagues at Oreca to come up with solutions, and then put them into practice on their return to the track. Such to-ing and fro-ing between the workshop and the circuit is inevitable during any adjustment operations.

This first test run wrapped up the initial phase of Genesis Magma Racing&rsquo;s development programme. The next stage will be to test the reliability of the GMR-001 over long distances, optimise its performance and hone the team&rsquo;s organisation.

The Sound of the GMR-001 Hypercar

Découvrez le son de la Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar

<h2>Photo gallery: Hypercars&rsquo; first outings</h2>

First runs are an endurance racing tradition. All the Hypercars entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans have negotiated this crucial step. Enjoy a look back through our selection of images captured when some of them made their eagerly awaited maiden outings.

A first test under the microscope: how the Genesis GMR-001 sprung to life

Porsche Penske Motorsport produced a masterful display to claim its first victory of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign in challenging conditions at Circuit of The Americas today, as United Autosports put McLaren in the winners’ circle in LMGT3.

Unseasonable rain in Texas resulted in the early stages of the six-hour race taking place behind the safety car, and following a red flag interruption, the competitive action finally got underway just before one-third distance.

Initially, it was the front row-sitting #83 and #51 Ferraris that held sway in the 18-strong Hypercar field, but the #6 Porsche in the hands of Laurens Vanthoor was never far behind in third, which became second when Philip Hanson lost more than half-a-minute due to a pit-stop delay.

Following a solid middle stint by Matt Campbell, the crucial moment came approaching the four-hour mark, when K&eacute;vin Estre exploited a tentative safety car re-start by Alessandro Pier Guidi to prise the door open into Turn One and assume a lead he would not subsequently relinquish.

Thereafter, the Frenchman was flawless, and each time his advantage was wiped out by a neutralisation, he immediately set about rebuilding it, going on to take the chequered flag a shade under ten seconds clear of the #50 Ferrari, with Peugeot celebrating its best-ever collective result in the championship in third and fourth.

&ldquo;The conditions were very difficult, especially when the track began to dry,&rdquo; Estre explained. &ldquo;The Ferrari behind was very strong towards the end and kept us under pressure, and it was a matter of deciding whether to put slicks on or not. It was tricky, but I was pretty confident the guys would make the right choice and it feels really good to be back on the top step where we belong.&rdquo;

<h2>Ferrari&rsquo;s pain is McLaren&rsquo;s gain in LMGT3</h2>

VISTA AF Corse looked to have pulled off a last-gasp LMGT3 category win with its Ferrari 296, but a late sting in the tail handed victory to United Autosports&rsquo; #95 McLaren.

For much of the race, qualifying star Proton Competition was in charge with the #77 Ford Mustang, but the drying conditions in the closing stages prompted several teams to roll the dice on strategy by trading in their wet tyres for slicks. With less than five minutes to go, Davide Rigon sliced past Ben Barker to grab the lead, but contact incurred the Italian a five-second penalty &ndash; and secured McLaren its maiden FIA WEC success.

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/" target="_blank">Watch FIA WEC live</a>&nbsp;or on-demand via the official FIA WEC TV app &ndash; your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship including the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. Don&rsquo;t miss a moment. For further information, check out the app.

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&nbsp;

Porsche conquers changing conditions to triumph in Texas

The 2025 Lone Star Le Mans promises another hotly disputed battle between Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and Toyota at the Circuit Of The Americas. With just three rounds of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) remaining, each point will count in the fight for the Hypercar and LMGT3 crowns.

Lone Star Le Mans, staged at the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, is the sixth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship. Fans will recall that AF Corse&rsquo;s #83 Ferrari 499P won last year&rsquo;s thrilling race from the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Toyota Gazoo Racing by a mere 1.7 seconds. Could this season&rsquo;s event produce a similar nail-biting finish? Lone Star Le Mans follows on from the Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo where Cadillac shook up the title fight.

Ferrari currently tops the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers&rsquo; Championship. The Prancing Horse holds a 55-point lead over Cadillac with Porsche a further nine points adrift. A Lone Star Le Mans win will scoop 25 points. With two more fixtures on the 2025 calendar after this race, the season is far from over.

After finishing outside the top ten in S&atilde;o Paulo, the #50 and #51 works Ferrari 499Ps will be looking to make amends and pick up precious points. AF Corse&rsquo;s #83 499P driven by Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson will also be keenly followed as the winner of June&rsquo;s 24 Hours of Le Mans returns to defend its Lone Star Le Mans crown. Can the yellow Ferrari sparkle once again?

<h2>Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA looking to cause an upset</h2>

Following their win in Brazil, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA and the Cadillac V-Series.R will be looking to draw on the home crowd&rsquo;s strong support to upset Ferrari. &ldquo;Obviously, the team is on a complete high from the 1-2 in Brazil, so we&#39;re hoping for more good things,&rdquo; says Earl Bamber, driver of the #38 Cadillac. &ldquo;I think we&#39;ve just got to keep pestering that top five with both cars and keep chipping away. Closing that gap is going to be tough. But if we&#39;re always in the top five and we&#39;re always there, we know we&#39;re going to be closing in and scoring big points.&rdquo;

Will Stevens, driver of the #38 Cadillac and S&atilde;o Paulo winner, adds: &ldquo;The high-speed first section, we know that&rsquo;s going to be a strong point to our Cadillac V-Series.R car. We know off last year&rsquo;s performance, the car was also working very well there. I think we have a great chance at scoring some really good points and having a great race.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
Confidence is running high in the American camp.

Meanwhile, Porsche Penske Motorsport will have high hopes of a podium with the #5 and #6 Porsche 963s. Both Hypercars will be manned by a three-driver crew: Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet and Michael Christensen in the #5, and K&eacute;vin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell in the #6. 
While Austin was a happy hunting ground for the German manufacturer who chalked up three straight wins with the 919 Hybrid between 2015 and 2017, it&rsquo;s quite a different matter for the 963.&nbsp;&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been as competitive as we had hoped this season,&rdquo; admits Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomaas Laudenbach, &ldquo;but going into Le Mans we turned things around and, thanks to a podium in S&atilde;o Paulo, we have kept our championship hopes alive. The team is fully prepared and eager for what promises to be a tight contest.&rdquo;

<h2>Toyota Gazoo Racing without Mike Conway</h2>

Toyota Gazoo Racing is on a revenge mission at COTA after being pipped at the post last time out at the Austin venue. The team will however be without Mike Conway at the wheel of the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. The British driver injured his collarbone in an accident in practice last week and will be replaced by Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez, who will join forces with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. The Japanese manufacturer endured a tough race at the Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo with performance and speed issues plaguing both cars. The team will hope for more favourable conditions in Texas to bounce back and pick up its first podium of the season.

&ldquo;As a team we&rsquo;ve had a few weeks to analyse what happened in Brazil and we want to come back much stronger in Austin,&rdquo;&nbsp;insists Kobayashi. &ldquo;Of course, we are all disappointed that Mike cannot join us in the #7 car, but Jos&eacute; has proved he is a very capable substitute.&rdquo;

While Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and Toyota will be the main contenders for the podium, BMW, Alpine and Peugeot will not be there just to make up the numbers. For Aston Martin, Lone Star Le Mans will provide another opportunity to glean experience with the Valkyrie. The commitment shown by these prestigious makes at the highest level of endurance reflects the vitality of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

<h2>LMGT3&nbsp;&ndash; another Ferrari v. Porsche face-off</h2>

In the LMGT3 class, Manthey 1ST Phorm (#82 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3) leads the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams standings, but the German outfit holds a mere 13-point advantage over Vista AF Corse (#21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3). TF Sport (#33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R) is also a threat. The British team is only 23 points in arrears of the pacesetters.

The race will start at 18:00 UTC on Sunday 7 September.

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>&nbsp;live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

FIA WEC – Title heat set to rise at Lone Star Le Mans

The 2026 Michelin Le Mans Cup calendar will feature the same six venues as this season with one important difference. The annual trip to Le Mans in June will now, for the first time, feature a single three-hour race on the full 13.6km Circuit de La Sarthe on Friday 12th June instead of the two 1-hour races run at previous events in support of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The six-round series will begin in Barcelona, with the Collective Test on April 8th&nbsp;followed by Round 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday 11th&nbsp;April.

Le Castellet will be the first of two events held in France, with Round 2 on Saturday 2nd&nbsp;May, followed by Road To Le Mans on Friday 12th&nbsp;June, as a curtain-raiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After the summer break, the MLMC returns in August for Round 4 at Spa-Francorchamps, followed by the second visit to Silverstone by the MMC on the 12th&nbsp;September. For the tenth time since 2017, the season finale will be held at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal on Saturday 10thOctober.

All of the races, with the exception of Road To Le Mans, will be in support of the European Le Mans Series.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest:&nbsp;&ldquo;The Michelin Le Mans Cup will be ten years old next year. In the space of a decade, the series has proved to be an essential stage on the route to excellence in this discipline. The quality and variety of circuits offer an outstanding competitive environment enabling teams and drivers to work their way up the endurance ladder towards the FIA World Endurance Championship. 
The three-hour race on the full Circuit des 24 heures is a major milestone on that journey. Road To Le Mans&rsquo; new format reflects the close relationship between the series and the classic French 24-hour race, offering competitors a real taste of the spirit of Le Mans. We are looking forward to the new season.&rdquo;

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Lequien, Le Mans Endurance Management (LMEM) CEO:&nbsp;&ldquo;The Michelin Le Mans Cup remains a very important step on the endurance racing ladder that leads to the ELMS, FIA World Endurance Championship and, ultimately, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2026 calendar mirrors the six locations of 2025, allowing LMEM to strengthen events and grow fan support. 
The move to a single 3-hour Road To Le Mans race in support of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an important step in the development of the series, which gives the teams and drivers more track time at the &lsquo;crown jewel&rsquo; event on the MLMC calendar. We look forward to welcoming everyone to another exciting Michelin Le Mans Cup season.&rdquo;

Three hour Road To Le Mans race is the highlight for the 2026 calendar

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A first test under the microscope: how the Genesis GMR-001 sprung to life

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Three hour Road To Le Mans race is the highlight for the 2026 calendar

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