There are motor racing teams, and then there are motor racing teams. Genesis Magma Racing is emphatically the latter, and if you haven’t been paying attention, you rather should have been.
Just 499 days after publicly announcing their existence to the world, Korea’s first manufacturer entry in the FIA World Endurance Championship rolls into Imola ready to race. Not as a sponsored outfit borrowing someone else’s infrastructure. Not as a logo bolted to a third-party car. A proper, full manufacturer team, built from the ground up, because according to Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul, there was simply “no alternative.”
That’s not corporate bluster. That’s a statement of intent.
Abiteboul, the former Renault Formula One man who has something of a reputation for doing things the difficult way, has assembled 75 people from 16 nationalities in a 2,900 square metre workshop at Le Castellet in southern France. They’ve built the GMR-001 Hypercar around the Genesis G8MR, a 3.2-litre turbocharged V8 engineered at the Hyundai Motorsport Technical Centre in Fechenheim, Germany, and they’ve done it with ORECA as their chassis partner. In motorsport terms, that’s rather like choosing a very good tailor. ORECA knows how to cut a suit that wins races.
Who is behind Genesis Magma Racing?
The team’s key names read like a greatest hits of European motorsport. Anouck Abadie is Team Manager. Justin Taylor is Chief Engineer. Gabriele Tarquini brings experience as Sporting Director that stretches back farther than most of us would care to count. And hovering magnificently above it all, as Brand Partner, is Jacky Ickx. Yes, that Jacky Ickx. The man with six Le Mans victories to his name. If you were building a motorsport programme and had the choice of having Jacky Ickx anywhere near it, you’d be a complete buffoon to say no.
Above: ICE, Hybrid, PHEV, EV — Which Drivetrain Is Right for You? Review
#EUFTA #LuxuryCarTax #FCAI #FreeTradeAgreement #AustraliaTrade
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel by SMASHING THE BUTTON ABOVE
BOVE: Genesis Magma Racing leadership — 499 days from announcement to WEC grid
Fifteen of those 75 team members came via the “Trajectory Program” from Hyundai Motorsport, which gives the operation a solid technical backbone even as it strikes out as something entirely new. The team’s clothing, designed by Kappa, comes in black and Magma Orange with Korean hangul design elements woven through it. It looks rather striking, which is fitting for a team that clearly intends to make an impression.
How prepared is Genesis Magma Racing for Imola?
They tested at Barcelona in December 2025 with 80 per cent of the on-event team present, so this isn’t a squad turning up at Imola to go through the motions. They’ve done the work, they’ve put the people in the room, and they’ve given themselves the best possible chance of not embarrassing themselves in a championship that eats underprepared newcomers for breakfast.
The WEC is a remarkable series. The Hypercar regulations have dragged in Ferrari, Porsche, Toyota, BMW and a cast of others who collectively make the grid one of the most competitive in endurance racing history. Genesis arriving not as a customer but as a full manufacturer adds a genuinely new dimension. Korea has never had a manufacturer in the WEC before. That distinction now belongs to Genesis Magma Racing, and they’ve earned it by doing things properly rather than taking the easy road.
The 6 Hours of Imola is next month, and I rather think it will be worth watching closely.
More Genesis at GayCarBoys
- Genesis G90 Wingback Concept Signals Fab Magma Future
- Genesis and Hyundai Dominate J.D. Power 2025 Tech Index Awards
- 2025 Genesis Electrified G80 makes Electric Luxury Sedans Cool
- How Jaeho Oh is Transforming Genesis Interiors with Korean Luxury and Innovative Design
- Genesis X Gran Equator Concept: Arabian Stallion & Outback Chic
- Genesis GV60: More Power, More Luxury, Still Just as Fabulous Jacky Ickx Returns to Mount Panorama in Stunning Genesis Concepts
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel
Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
Leave a Reply