Genesis Magma Racing Completes First Endurance Test with GMR-001 Hypercar Ahead of 2026 WEC Debut

Genesis Magma Racing has completed the first endurance test of the GMR-001 Hypercar at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.

The three-day session, held from September 16 to 18, focused on confirming reliability across all systems.

The GMR-001 is built under LMDh regulations in partnership with Oreca and combines a twin-turbocharged V8 engine with a hybrid system.

Genesis announced the program in September 2024 and unveiled the car in December 2024 at a launch event in Dubai, confirming plans to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026 and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2027.

The Algarve test involved 32 hours of running, placing maximum stress on components to evaluate durability in race-like conditions.

“The main target of an endurance test is to put miles on the car and see what problems you can generate along the way," explained Genesis Magma Racing Chief Engineer Justin Taylor.

"We’re still only six or seven test days into the development of the car, so at this stage you're hoping to have problems show up so that you have a chance to solve them.”

The car first ran at a shakedown test in August 2025 at Circuit Paul Ricard before undergoing the longer endurance test in Portugal.

High track temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius provided a thorough assessment of the cooling system, the hybrid powertrain, and other mechanical components.

Driving duties were shared between André Lotterer, Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert, and Dani Juncadella.

“As a driver, you want to do good lap times so you can properly stress components with the intention of finding failures. It's a brand-new car and we need to see if the parts can last long enough," said Derani.

"If we find any weak points, then work out what we can do to improve. Next year our big race is a 24-hours, so we try and prepare ourselves for that.”

Night running tested the effectiveness of the car’s headlights, designed around Genesis’ Two-Line styling.

“We quickly realised that our lights are very good. It is very satisfying, because I know it's been a big topic," Lotterer noted.

"We decided to develop our own lights to keep the Genesis design identity, but we knew we also needed the quality. So that was very positive to be able to sign off so easily.”

Genesis Magma Racing will next focus on extracting more performance from the GMR-001 through calibration and software updates.

Further endurance and operational tests are scheduled ahead of the car’s competitive debut in 2026.