Abiteboul: Genesis Pace ‘Surprised’ on Le Mans Debut

Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul says the manufacturer’s 24 Hour of Le Mans debut featured several “surprises” including running as high as fourth at one stage, while its “main target” was achieved.

The South Korean brand entered the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time this season but its new GMR-001 Hypercar headed to Le Mans on the back foot amid missing out on the proving ground of the planned ten-hour season-opener in Qatar and with concerns about the car’s reliability.

Yet Genesis surprised many with its pace around the Circuit de la Sarthe as the No. 17 machine made it into the Hyperpole 2 shootout while the sister No. 19 entry ran solidly in the top-ten for much of the first half of the race until an electronic problem struck.

When asked if he was surprised by the car’s potential, Abiteboul told Sportscar365: “I think the performance, the competitiveness of the package was a slight surprise.

“We had seen glimpses of what was possible all the way through the week through qualifying — we saw some pink at some points — so we knew there was pace but you never know exactly who’s where.

“There was a lot of speculation of who was showing what in qualifying but you have to assume that at some point in the race it has to be genuine. It was good to show that.

“Those moments were very, very nice to see even though we know with stops and strategies it can fluctuate a lot, in particular after a safety car, when the grid is packed. But again it was good to see.

“The most difficult time was the first time the car had to stop due to an electronic issue because we had made a spot-on call just after a full-course yellow.

“We were going to gain positions, it was going to play very nicely to us and at this moment suddenly a blackout of the car, so that was very difficult.”

The electronic glitch again plagued the No. 19 machine later in the race leaving it nine laps down at the flag but still classified 13th, while the sister No. 17 car retired at two-third’s distance with suspension woes.

“The part that was not really a surprise is the reliability,” Abiteboul continued. “We’re very young, it’s very early days in this program.

“Validating a car in 24 hours on a track like this one, frankly, I think there’s only one way you can do that and it’s really by racing here.

“We know there are tracks, for instance Sebring is a great track to endure cars, we wanted to do that but it’s not something we were able to squeeze into our program, into our schedule.

“It was very clear that we were coming here slightly unprepared, even though I believe we’ve done everything we could in order to be as prepared as we could.”

Nevertheless, despite the gremlins, Abiteboul was delighted to have achieved the team’s target of finishing the race.

“It was quite a high target given the level of the event and all the rest is a bonus on the top of that main target,” he said.

Genesis sporting director Gabriele Tarquini added: “Last year, when we started this project, it was impossible to even imagine that by our third race we could score points in Spa and finish the race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“That’s great. That’s unbelievable. Even in our dreams, the best dreams, we cannot imagine to finish this race.”