Genesis Drivers Aiming to Build on “Very Positive” Fuji Showing

Genesis Magma Racing driver Mathieu Jaminet says the Korean brand is heading into this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship round at Barcelona aiming to build on what he called a “very positive” showing last month at Fuji.

The No. 19 Genesis GMR-001 that Jaminet shares with Daniel Juncadella and Paul-Loup Chatin ran third in the early stages in Japan, and was a top-five contender until the final safety car period that shuffled the Hypercar order and dropped the car to eighth.

A late drive-through penalty for speeding under yellow flags demoted the car to 11th, outside of the points, while the sister No. 17 car finished 15th.

However, a combination of the strong performance shown by Genesis — including a best-ever starting position — and the fact the GMR-001 has completed two tests already at Barcelona has left Jaminet optimistic for the weekend ahead.

“For sure Fuji was encouraging,” Jaminet told Sportscar365 prior to FP1 on Friday. “We did done pretty much all the race in the top six, and a good first part in the top three.

“In terms of pace it was very positive, until that last yellow to be running in the top five and having strong pace. This was our first event we could really show that with one car.

“The end result wasn’t there, so it still seems that we have a lot of things to work on and improve to get to the front, but for sure this gives us a lot of confidence.

“We have been lucky enough and smart enough to come here testing. Some competitors were also here so it’s not that we have a huge advantage on everyone else, but it’s always better to have done some laps around this place.

“I really hope that in terms of pace and performance we can repeat what we did at Fuji, and then hopefully we can step up in terms of execution and translate that performance into a result for the team, and ideally with both cars in the top eight or top nine.”

While admitting the benefit of having tested at Barcelona as recently as July, Jaminet downplayed the significance of that particular test day, when a single GMR-001 he shared with Lotterer shared the track with BMW and Cadillac.

“The conditions were very different, it was in summer, so it was extremely hot, and now we expect some rain [this weekend],” he said.

“Also we were using the Medium and the Hard tire at the time, now we are using the Soft [and Medium], so there is also a new tire that we have to learn.

“But I think the car has good potential on this kind of track, a bit twisty with some fast corners in the last sector. Also Turn 3 should suit our car well.”

On the other side of the Genesis garage, Lotterer endured a tough Fuji race in the No. 17 car he shares with Pipo Derani and Mathys Jaubert, as the crew didn’t recover from a difficult opening stint on Medium tires where its rivals were all using Softs.

The three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner said he was not disheartened as there were factors besides tire choice that may have explained the lack of pace.

“It was a difficult stint on the Mediums, but it was not only that,” Lotterer told Sportscar365. “I think throughout the race we lacked pace compared to the sister car, and there were a few things that we understand were not ideal with the car.

“There is no reason there should be such a gap. The previous races we were similar, so I think it was an outlier because of certain circumstances.

“Again, it’s our first year, we try to learn more and more, we also need to improve some tools in the background to understand the car better. It’s trial and error.

“I think even if we’re not fully sorted in some things, we have still showed some strong performances for a new car, new team, which is quite motivating for the future.”

Genesis’ best results of its rookie campaign so far are a pair of seventh places at Spa and the Circuit of The Americas, which leaves it eighth and last in the manufacturers’ standings, 12 points behind nearest contender Peugeot.

Lotterer highlighted the importance of trying to get a big result on the board this season, even if the biggest opportunities are likely to come next year and beyond.

“At the end of the day, we’re all racers in this team,” he said. “Even though it’s our first year and we’re focused on building something strong for the future, we also want to have a good result.

“I think every single individual here, if they see something in front of them, they go for it. So that’s what we’re going to do and hopefully with a good result at the end.”