Hot Magma: How Genesis went from Hypercar rookies to rockets

The greatest compliment you can pay Genesis Magma Racing right now is that, in a deep Hypercar field packed with established factory teams, it looks more like a second-year operation than a rookie program.

The young Korean brand’s first foray into motorsport has wasted little time turning heads in its debut season. Both GMR-001s finished on their debut at Imola, the No. 17 crew scored its first world championship points in Round 2 at Spa and went on to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And now, with a race weekend still to come, Mathys Jaubert has delivered the team’s first pole position in Barcelona.

Genesis has become the 11th brand to score an overall pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship, while Jaubert, at just 21, can claim to be the youngest pole-sitter in championship history. His lap, which he admitted to RACER was a little messy, was nevertheless quick enough to beat the other nine drivers in the Hyperpole shootout and add another significant marker for the team’s progress.

Still, the so-called “Baby Driver” is all business, with little appetite for complacency ahead of the race.

“It’s a track that suits me; it’s where I won my first race with Genesis in LMP2 last year, and where I have my first pole,” he said of the Barcelona circuit. “In the end we put everything together in Hyperpole, and we did it.

“It means a lot; I’m happy about the result, and the whole team is. But I’m thinking about tomorrow already. It’s probably going to be the most important one of the year.”

For GMR team principal Cyril Abiteboul, the performance was validation not only of the wider team he has assembled, but also of his decision to invest in a trajectory program and back Jaubert, who made an immediate impression when he first took to the track in an LMP2 car during last year’s European Le Mans Series season opener.

“We’ve been making statements; we’ve been feeling the car was good, that our drivers were capable, and the team was coming together,” he explained. “But you know, it’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to do it in certain sessions and deliver when it really matters. We all know Barcelona is a benchmark track, so to do that here is really good.

“It’s also nice to do it with Mathys, because he’s been with us since day one. It was a daring choice to build the program with him, but I am very happy to have done this journey today.

“When we decided to take on this journey in WEC, I proposed to top management that we should invest in a young generation and give an opportunity to drivers who have been around but maybe not given the right opportunity. Mathys was clearly coming from the right formula; in GT racing, we know the parallels, and so it’s good to have this result.”

Genesis still has to demonstrate it can execute a winning strategy over a race distance. Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Tomorrow’s race, however, presents a very different challenge. By its own admission, Genesis has made some key operational errors during its first six outings. There is still plenty to learn, and whether the team can put everything together over six hours to secure its first silverware remains to be seen.

The threat of rain adds another variable, with conditions potentially shaking up the competitive order. Many Hypercar teams, including Genesis, have yet to test the new Michelin wet-weather tire compound, which makes its debut this weekend.

Whatever happens in the race, though, it should not detract from the achievement of Saturday’s qualifying performance. Jaubert’s teammate Andre Lotterer said he felt the Hyperpole result showed that Genesis “means business.”

He is right. Genesis is emerging as a genuine disruptor in Hypercar, a new force that appears to be closing in on the point where it can challenge established manufacturers for wins and championships. The Barcelona pole is another indication that the Korean marque’s ambitions should be taken seriously.