GENESIS MAGMA RACING LEAVES JAPAN ENCOURAGED DESPITE DISAPPOINTMENT

• Genesis Magma Racing missed out on points at 6 Hours of Fuji after late race penalties for both GMR-001 Hypercars dropped them from top ten

• The race began with the team’s best starting positions this season after Qualifying was cancelled and Free Practice times set starting grid

• #19 car held top five position for most of the race, with strong stints from Dani Juncadella, Paul-Loup Chatin and Mathieu Jaminet

• André Lotterer lost ground early with alternative tire strategy, before Mathys Jaubert and Pipo Derani brought the #17 entry back into contention for top ten 

FUJI, Japan, Sept. 27, 2026 — Genesis Magma Racing missed out on adding to its FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) points tally at the 6 Hours of Fuji, despite showing strong pace throughout a weekend of mixed conditions after late race penalties for both GMR-001 Hypercar took them out of the top ten at Fuji Speedway.

Strong Pace in All Conditions Clouded by Mistakes

Dani Juncadella and André Lotterer started the race third and fifth respectively in the #19 and #17 GMR-001 Hypercars, thanks to their positions decided by the fastest Free Practice laps after Qualifying was cancelled due to wet conditions. The team’s best starting position was the result of not only the performance of the car, but also the foresight to plan ahead during the first sessions of the weekend.

Juncadella was able to hold third for the first hour of the race, while Lotterer — one of only a few drivers on four medium tires compared to the soft compound — struggled in his opening double stint, leaving teammates Mathys Jaubert and Pipo Derani to lead the recovery.

With Juncadella, then Paul-Loup Chatin and Mathieu Jaminet, the #19 entry held a top five position for much of the race. The trio showed the potential of the GMR-001 Hypercar despite the changing conditions, reaching the start of the final hour holding fifth place.

When most of the Hypercar field pitted together under Safety Car with less than 45 minutes remaining, the #19 crew lost time with a slow stop, dropping out of the top five but remaining in the points positions. Jaminet was able to win back one position after the restart. However, the chances of the first points for the lineup were dealt a major blow by a drive through penalty — assessed two hours after the infringement — which left the team with no time to recover the lost time, leaving the #19 car 11th at the end of the race, narrowly missing out on the points the performance deserved.

The sister car had recovered well to break into the points with Derani driving the final stint. However, the team’s failure to adapt quickly enough to dropping temperatures and light rain led to the car falling out of the prescribed tire pressure range, resulting in a drive through penalty that dropped the car to finish 15th.

Genesis Magma Racing Team Management Quotes

Gabriele Tarquini, Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director said: “We have to take a lot of positive things from the race because our pace was very good both wet and dry and reliability was no problem again. The last two drivers faced difficult conditions on track because it was damp, but the car went well. The balance was very good, so that's part of the positive things from the weekend. But the execution of the race was not perfect. Any small mistakes cost you a lot and we paid very, very hard, especially in a race as compact as this because of the Safety Car in the last quarter of the race. So, we need to learn from and execute better the next race.”

Justin Taylor, Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer said: “11^th and 15^th is not the result that we wanted, but in motorsport, I think sometimes you have to look outside just the results at the end to see how you really did. Clearly, we made some mistakes. We have a lot of learning still left to do, but we had a lot of positives from the weekend. In Free Practice, our Qualifying [simulations] showed that the car is performing well, and we planned ahead to make sure we were ready in case Qualifying was cancelled, which paid off. During the race, we were able to be competitive with the big names on the grid. So, the GMR-001 Hypercar has performance. We know we have the potential. We just need to tie it all together on our side and on track.”

Driver Quote - #17 GMR-001 Hypercar

Pipo Derani said: “Unfortunately we had an issue there where we had to change tires. Temperatures were dropping quicker than we expected and we didn’t react well enough. We took a drive through because of it — unfortunate — but it is what it is. Definitely a weekend for us to learn. We showed some promise, some great potential, but this weekend was another reminder that to get to the top it takes a lot of effort, a lot of learning and we have to remind ourselves about that. We're going to analyze everything and come back stronger. I'm sure that things that we didn't execute so well the last race were better here, but we’re always facing new situations, making sure that we're on our toes. We keep learning and hopefully we'll be able to materialize a very strong result.”

Mathys Jaubert said: “My stint was not the easiest, but when you are not fighting a great position, you just focus on the target, saving the tires and not taking any penalties, trying to do a lot of energy saving to try to offset the strategy. This race was quite tough for the #17 GMR-001 Hypercar. We were missing some performance and small things have big consequences in this championship where the field is so strong and very close. We learned a lot, especially in the wet conditions we discovered this weekend. Comparing us to the other teams in these conditions we were not bad, and starting two cars in the top five, it's very positive. But then the race is about strategy and this weekend we had some issues which had big consequences.”

André Lotterer said: “We started third and fifth, and hoping to finish with both cars in the top eight, which was very realistic, especially for the sister car. Me, with the medium tires, they never came in, so had I to survive that opening stint, and we were hoping to move back up with Mathys and Pipo, which we actually did, but then we got penalties. On the other side, we were hoping to have a good result. It was looking good, like fourth, fifth, or with some other calls it could have even been better, so that's very encouraging. We're still a new team, and when you make small mistakes they cost a lot when the field is so close. It's all part of our learning curve. The potential is obviously there. We're still working on putting the puzzle together.”

Driver Quote - #19 GMR-001 Hypercar

Paul-Loup Chatin said: “I think overall it's still a strong weekend for us, even if we didn’t get the result that we wanted. We showed strong pace throughout the weekend, in wet conditions and in the dry. The #19 GMR-001 Hypercar was great. The top three in my stint were a bit faster than us, but we were doing what we needed to be capable of fighting with them. The mistake under double yellows was only small, but it cost us a lot, especially so late in the race, which is a shame. The team did a super good job, so there are still plenty of positive things from this weekend, but also a lot we can analyze, and I'm sure it will help us to come back stronger.”

Mathieu Jaminet said: “The car had decent pace, running P5 while managing tires and gap while competing at the front. It's one of the first times this year we were really running up front. Dani did an amazing job at the beginning, holding on for the first hour in the top three. But the Safety Car came out with an hour left and we didn't do our best stop and lost a few positions there. I had a fight at the restart and had really good pace. Unfortunately, we had a late drive-through for an infringement early in the race, so no points today. It’s a little bit frustrating to still have the #19 car on zero as today we definitely deserved more and the top five was on the cards. I'm pretty happy with the progress, but for sure we need to step up, but it's looking good towards the end of the year.”

Dani Juncadella said: “There were a lot of positives, of course. We were competitive in the dry, in mixed conditions and in the wet. We had a very good first half of the race. We were comfortably running around P4, so it was looking great. Unfortunately, the last pit stop was a bit of a chaotic one with the whole grid pitting all together, bunched up. We lost a bit there and that had a big consequence, so we dropped to P9 at the time. It looked like we were going to finish in P7, but we had a drive-through also for a small mistake under double yellows. It's a shame because I think everybody deserved a strong result today. Before the last pit stop we were ahead of the #8 Toyota that won the race.”

ㅤ2026 6 Hours of Fuji – Hypercar class