André Lotterer is a happy man, and honestly, looking at the numbers Genesis Magma Racing just put up, you can understand why. The Hyundai premium marque's FIA WEC effort has officially been around for just over a year, and their GMR-001 machine has just cleared a massive development hurdle at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
That 3.2-litre turbocharged V8 engine—first fired up in February to kick off a brutal series of dyno tests aimed at chasing efficiency, power, and reliability—just smashed past the 8,000km milestone in the #17 car. That is no joke for a brand-new Hypercar build.
We've come a long way since the first test, especially on reliability,
"It's a massive deal for us to reach our reliability target," acknowledged Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer, Justin Taylor. If you cannot finish the longest, most important race, the whole operation grinds to a halt. The power unit team clearly pulled off a monumental task here.
Behind the scenes, the squad has been assembled from scratch, bringing in talent from across endurance racing alongside staff from Hyundai Motorsport who spent 2025 embedded in the IDEC Sport LMP2 outfit in the European Le Mans Series as part of the Genesis 'Trajectory Programme'. This two-car test in Barcelona acted as a complete operational rehearsal. Team Manager Anouck Abadie pointed out that with 75 people on-site—representing about 80 per cent of the total team—they needed to see how personnel from entirely different environments gelled together.
On track, the #17 entry debuted a stunning new 'liquid metal' livery featuring Korean Hangeul lettering for 'Magma' alongside the geometric engine cover logo. Two-time world champion Lotterer returns to the grid to share that machine with 'Pipo' Derani and Mathys Jaubert after a season away.
"We've come a long way since the first test, especially on reliability," Lotterer asserted. The three days in Catalunya were all about performance, software optimisation, a brand-new aero package, and even trying out new tyres on one car.
Heading into the Christmas break, the camp is breathing a bit easier. Taylor noted that they leave smarter than when they arrived, with fewer things to worry about as they approach their Hypercar debut next season.
