IMOLA, Italy, April 10, 2026 — Genesis Magma Racing will make its debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the 6 Hours of Imola less than 500 days after publicly announcing their intent to enter the series. Though the team is satisfied with the progress made during testing, the event at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari represents a new step, joining the established teams and manufacturers of the grid on track for the first time.

Race Debut Builds on Foundations Laid During Testing

The team’s main focus is on building on the foundations laid during the 25,000 kilometers of track testing completed by the team with the car since August 2025. Recognizing the scale of the challenge of joining the highly competitive championship, Genesis Magma Racing places a two-car finish high on its list of goals for the race while focusing on managing aspects of race weekend operation that lie fully within its control.

The change to the WEC calendar gave Genesis Magma Racing an extra three weeks to prepare for its first event at the highest level of endurance racing. The team’s engineers took full advantage of the opportunity as they have done throughout the testing and development of the GMR-001 Hypercar.

Final preparations for the race debut included a day of testing at the Imola circuit – something that was planned prior to the calendar alterations. As well as giving the team an opportunity to simulate race runs on a WEC race track, the running with two cars provided the drivers with a chance to establish a base setup for the car, which they can work from during the Prologue test and Free Practice sessions.

This is especially important for the technical demands of the Imola circuit, including a need to ride bumps and curbs well to make the most of the power from the GMR-001 Hypercar’s G8MR 3.2l Turbo V8 engine.

Both of the team’s entries will be shared by three drivers – Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert and André Lotterer sharing the “liquid metal” liveried #17; and Paul-Loup Chatin, Mathieu Jaminet and Dani Juncadella in the predominantly black #19 GMR-001 Hypercar.

Genesis Magma Racing Team Management Quotes

Cyril Abiteboul, Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal said: “The FIA World Endurance Championship weekend at Imola is a huge moment for Genesis Magma Racing and Genesis as a manufacturer. I am very proud of the work we have done as a team to reach this occasion, and I am personally very proud of the faith placed in us by our Chair, Vice Chair and Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke to take Genesis racing. As a new entrant, we know that we are not in a position to pursue performance at the start of the season. Instead, our focus will be on things we can control in our reliability and operations, making sure we can do the small things right first, before we can expect performance and race results. A successful weekend in Imola will be if we get both our GMR-001 Hypercars to the finish with minimal technical problems or penalties and the entire team working well together. Once the race starts, I’ll be nervously waiting for the checkered flag — certainly not for the last time with Genesis Magma Racing.”

Gabriele Tarquini, Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director said: “Imola is not just a race weekend for Genesis Magma Racing, but our first ever race. It’s a very important moment in our history. The entire team is excited to start, and once we begin, I’m sure we will find even more motivation for the season. Even after a long time for testing – even if any time spent testing is never enough – we really miss the stress and adrenaline of real competition. Our goal for the first race is to put both GMR-001 Hypercar on the grid with no mistakes, and to finish the race with both cars. This is the first step for us to climb, and I want to see how our drivers, who worked together very well during testing, will perform in a race situation. We know that our competitors are very strong and very experienced, but I am sure we have everything we need to start fighting with them very soon.” 

Justin Taylor, Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer said: “Imola is a unique circuit, not only because of its history but also some of its characteristics, namely the curbs and bumps. To be fast in Imola means using the curbs and absorbing the bumps, which means a compromise on the aerodynamics. We gained invaluable experience at the track during a test in February and will be building on that foundation during the official Prologue, focusing on adapting the GMR-001 Hypercar to the challenges of a full WEC event with other Hypercar and LMGT3 traffic, something impossible to test otherwise. There’s a mix of feelings about finally going racing after an intense development. Obviously, anxiety coming from the uncertainty of how the car will perform when compared to the rest of the field. At the same time, we have great excitement to cross a significant milestone to where lap times and results matter.”

Driver Quotes - #17 GMR-001 Hypercar

Pipo Derani said: “The additional month before the start of the season was definitely helpful for us. On the other hand, we would have preferred to race in Qatar as it would have provided an extra 10-hour race before Le Mans. Imola is one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar, making it a significant test for us as a team for our first race. If we perform well at Imola, it should boost confidence for the next rounds. I believe our first target is to finish without any major issues. I'm not setting any expectations. I want us to focus on doing well with the things we can control. If we succeed in that, we might end up with a positive outcome. From a personal perspective, my goal is to accomplish small wins each day and review the weekend with the sense that we worked effectively as a team. There will be moments we might consider as underperformance but recognizing those areas will be important for our development.”

Mathys Jaubert said: “The test we completed at Imola gives us a strong foundation heading into the race weekend. It allowed us to define key elements such as the gearbox ratios, work on setup, and for us drivers to get comfortable with the track, but without traffic. The Prologue will be especially valuable, particularly for me as a rookie, to adapt to traffic management with the GT3 cars. It will also give us our first real benchmark against the other teams and help us understand our strengths and areas to improve, giving our first true indicator of where we stand. The priority will be to stay consistent, avoid mistakes, and not pick up any penalties. It will also be important to identify any weaknesses in the car so we can improve for the upcoming races and build a strong foundation for the season. On my side, the focus will be on delivering a clean and consistent race, avoiding errors, and staying in the right rhythm throughout my stints. Being on the pace is key, and I’m confident we will be there.”

André Lotterer said: “Imola is one of the tightest tracks on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar. It is very demanding in terms of traffic management and quite busy for the drivers. The baseline setup we have for the GMR-001 Hypercar is quite good, but you need a very particular setup for Imola. It is one of the bumpiest tracks we visit and requires a car that is nimble and able to go on the curbs and absorb the bumps. As a driver, you always try to maximize what you have, but in this case we don’t know what we have compared to the competition, so it will be a revelation to see where we are. We don’t have crazy expectations. We want to finish the race and gain as much experience as possible. We’ll focus on ourselves and our solutions and learn as much as we can so we can continue to build the team and leave Imola stronger. We’ll see our weaknesses, but the more we see them, the clearer our solutions will be, so we can address them quickly.”

Driver Quotes - #19 GMR-001 Hypercar

Paul-Loup Chatin said: “I’m very pleased to see the 2026 season finally getting underway. It represents the start of a new personal challenge for me, but also a significant milestone for everyone at Genesis Magma Racing. Since the team was announced in December 2024, the entire team has worked relentlessly and made the most of every second. I’m extremely proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time. Imola marks the first step of this new chapter. The circuit increases the level of difficulty due to its characteristics, particularly the bumps and aggressive curbs, which require specific qualities from the car. It’s a real challenge that will teach us a lot for the rest of the program. Our primary goal will be to focus on ourselves and execute a clean race from start to finish. We are not facing a single mountain, but an entire mountain range. It will be essential to remain humble and united throughout this journey if we want to reach our objectives.”

Mathieu Jaminet said: “I’m super excited to finally go racing. It’s been a while since I had the chance to race against someone, and I think it’s the same for my teammates. I’m looking forward to starting the season, the competition and seeing where we are. Starting Imola after Qatar was postponed could be seen as a good and bad thing for us. It would have been interesting to see where we were compared to the competition already in Qatar, but it gave us more time to prepare, which we took full advantage of. For me, Imola is one of the highlights of the calendar. It’s a very old-school track. It’s fast, really demanding for the car, so I’m looking forward to driving there and seeing how close – or far – we are from the top runners. The main target is to finish the race with no technical issues, no penalties and we can build from there. Get some mileage, learn more about the car, and get the team working together.” 

Dani Juncadella said: “Starting the season in Imola is quite a challenge as a driver, and for the whole Genesis Magma Racing team. It’s a very challenging track, very technical as a driver and very narrow, so it’s going to be fascinating managing the GT traffic, which will be a first for me. We got the chance to test at the circuit and make a few laps, which gave us a bit of a head start to know what’s coming. To be fair the aim for the weekend is go step by step, day by day with the Prologue test, practice, qualifying and race. For me, it’s my debut in Hypercar, so I’m massively excited, but I’m not expecting much in terms of results, but it’s not our main focus. There’s a lot of things we need to work on before focusing on pure results. I’m very excited to start the journey with my two teammates in the #19 GMR-001 Hypercar. Imola is a great place to kick-start the season. It’s going to be hectic, and let’s see if the weather also plays a role. There’s going to be a lot happening.”

DAVOS, Switzerland, Nov. 20, 2025 — Genesis Magma Racing has completed its driver lineup for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, announcing experienced Hypercar class drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin. The pair join André Lotterer, Pipo Derani, Dani Juncadella and their fellow Frenchman Mathys Jaubert on the roster for the season. 

Experience and Pedigree Complete Genesis Magma Racing Squad 

Jaminet and Chatin bring considerable Hypercar and endurance racing experience to their new team, further strengthening Genesis Magma Racing’s stable of drivers ahead of their competitive debut. 

Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini said: “The addition of Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin completes a well-balanced lineup for our debut WEC season. They are the perfect point between the experience we have in André Lotterer and Pipo Derani, and the potential we see in Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella.” 

“We have an amazing lineup for Genesis Magma Racing’s first year in the FIA World Endurance Championship,” said Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. “The combination of drivers that we have secured far exceeds any expectation we had when we began the project. It is a huge mark of the trust these race winners and champions have placed in our young team, Genesis and the broader Hyundai Motor Group. I am sure they will create huge motivation and a virtuous circle for the team that is coming together very nicely at our base in Signes.” 

Jaminet has become a stalwart of worldwide endurance racing paddocks, first in the GT classes before graduating to the Hypercar and GTP class of WEC and IMSA respectively. He won the 2022 GTD Pro class title in the North America-based series and moved to the premier class the following season. Since then, he has collected five overall victories and a further eight podiums, including results in the series’ headline endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta. 

“I’m very happy to be joining Genesis Magma Racing,” said Jaminet. “This is the start of a new chapter, a new history for me. This team offers me that opportunity to go racing in the WEC and hopefully in the future also the IMSA series.” 

He added: “I wanted to have a fresh start with new people to try to step up but also bring my experience to a new team and work to build something incredible for the future. Obviously, the road will be long with a new team, but I’m really excited and looking forward to the challenge ahead.” 

He has contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times — once in LMGTE Pro and three times in Hypercar — and has completed a partial schedule in the WEC this year, scoring a best finish of fourth in Japan. 

WEC Race Winner Chatin Brings Important Development Knowledge to New Team 

At the same event, Chatin joined the list of WEC race winners as part of the team that won the 6 Hours of Fuji. On top of 15 starts in the top class of the championship, he crucially brings more experience of the ORECA chassis which forms the basis of the GMR-001 Hypercar. His knowledge about previous development of the platform will add another important element to the final preparations of the car for its competitive debut and the further testing to be completed during the 2026 season. 

Chatin said: “I am truly honored and proud to join the Genesis Magma Racing adventure in Hypercar. First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who made this opportunity possible. After two enriching years with Alpine Endurance Team and the recent success in Fuji, I feel more ready than ever to take on this new challenge.” 

“Genesis is still a young brand, but its values and ambitions immediately resonated with me,” he added. “I’m well aware of the challenges that await us, but I have full confidence in our team’s talent and determination to quickly move forward and fight for top positions.” 

Chatin is also a familiar face to Juncadella and Jaubert, having been part of the driving squad for the sister IDEC Sport entry to the Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory drivers’ car in the European Le Mans Series throughout 2025. 

Final Tests Give Team Opportunities to Assess Potential Driver Partnerships 

The arrival of Jaminet and Chatin adds one more element to Genesis Magma Racing’s development. Jaminet was part of the team’s latest endurance test, which took place at the MotorLand Aragon circuit on Nov. 15-17. Joining previously announced drivers André Lotterer, Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella, as well as recently announced Reserve Driver Jamie Chadwick, Jaminet completed stints throughout the test where the team was able to take a major step in confirming the reliability essential to its first steps in WEC competition. 

“I had to adapt a little bit,” Jaminet said after his first laps in the GMR-001 Hypercar. “The car requires a different driving style compared to what I am used to. It seems to like nice big corners. It's actually quite nice. At this stage every lap is really important for a driver. You need to understand all the systems, all the buttons on the steering wheel and all the procedures.” 

He added: “I think I come in with different feedback on a few things. I'm one of the most experienced drivers with LMDh cars and obviously I was in a different car not long ago. I tried to not get too much feedback from the other drivers – I really wanted to make my opinion, also for the engineers. The idea was not to provide me with too much information to really start from a white sheet of paper to tell them what I think.” 

The drivers’ performance and feedback, as well as the working dynamics with the team’s other drivers, will be assessed by Genesis Magma Racing team management, led by Tarquini and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul, to decide the exact driving lineup for the team’s pair of FIA World Endurance Championship entries. 

“The chemistry between drivers in the car is vital when it comes to success,” said Tarquini. “Through the tests we can see how the drivers work together, see how their driving styles and set-up preferences match, and how the relationships begin to form before deciding our lineups for the season. The key will be to make sure we have the best possible squad of drivers in both cars to help us create the strong foundations we need as a team.” 

Driver Profile: Mathieu Jaminet

Place of Birth: Hayange, France
Date of Birth: Oct. 24, 1994
FIA Driver Grading: Platinum

Career Highlights:

Driver Profile: Paul-Loup Chatin

Place of Birth: Dourdan, France
Date of Birth: Oct. 19, 1991
FIA Driver Grading: Gold

Career Highlights: