Genesis Magma Racing has taken a major step toward its FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) debut by completing the first full endurance test of its GMR-001 Hypercar. The three-day test took place at Portugal’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, where engineers and drivers pushed the car to its limits over 32 hours of continuous running.
Why Was Burt Reynolds Laid to Rest Nearly Three Years After His Death?
The session marked a critical phase in the development of Genesis’ first endurance prototype, designed to compete in the WEC’s top hypercar category beginning in 2026. The team’s focus was on testing every system — from the powertrain and cooling to electronics and aerodynamics — to evaluate reliability under extreme stress.
“The main target of an endurance test is to put miles on the car and see what problems you can generate along the way,” said Justin Taylor, Genesis Magma Racing’s chief engineer. “We’re still early in development, so we actually want issues to appear now, while we still have time to fix them.”
Sharing driving duties were veterans André Lotterer and Pipo Derani, along with new Genesis Magma WEC recruits Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella. The team rotated through long stints, including nighttime driving, which provided a thorough test of the GMR-001’s systems and comfort levels.
High temperatures — reaching above 30°C — challenged the car’s cooling package and its 3.2-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. The team also evaluated Genesis’ signature Two-Line headlight design, which successfully handled overnight running. “It was satisfying to see the lights perform so well,” Lotterer said. “They’re part of the brand’s identity, and they worked perfectly.”
As testing continues, Genesis will shift its focus toward performance tuning — refining calibrations, software, and components — before additional endurance runs. Taylor said the next phase will balance speed and reliability to ensure the team is ready for its highly anticipated WEC debut in 2026.
Source
About the Author
