Very few people understand what it takes to win on the world stage. In fact, unless you’ve done it yourself or you’ve been closely embedded with someone who has, you probably have no clue. To win a major race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it takes the collective, near-flawless execution of hundreds, if not a thousand, people across multiple locations worldwide. It takes discipline, it takes leadership, and, perhaps most elusive of all, it takes a pinch of luck. All of that and then some was on display at the Genesis Magma Racing garage last weekend as it tackled the world’s most torturous race for the very first time.
The statement above isn’t to be dismissive or imply that you don’t know jack about racing—nor that I know it all. It just speaks to the enormity of the challenge. From Formula 1 Grands Prix to the Indy 500, the Dakar Rally, and Le Mans, I am lucky to camp out behind-the-scenes at a dozen or so races a year. I’ve had the opportunity to tag along with two different automakers as they’ve embarked on their maiden Le Mans and have seen their efforts, their wins, their losses, and, perhaps most commonly, their frustrations. No form of racing is easy, but boy, Le Mans is just in another realm.
A 13th-place finish isn’t exactly what most teams would be happy with, because, well, that’s 12 steps too far from the top. However, that’s where the No. 19 car driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, Mathieu Jaminet and Dani Juncadella ultimately finished the race. Its sister car, the No. 17, was forced to retire 16 hours in due to a suspension failure.
So why exactly should Genesis walk away feeling like it’s accomplished something? Because it did, but allow me to elaborate. Just 19 months ago, no one at Genesis even thought about racing. Not in Le Mans, not in WEC—there was a brief thought about F1, but it quickly vanished. A month later, Genesis Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke decided it was time to open up a new chapter for the brand. With the approval of Hyundai’s executive chair, Euisun Chung, he decided to create Genesis Magma Racing and enter the ultra-competitive WEC Hypercar class of 2026 to compete against the likes of Aston Martin, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, and this year’s winners, Toyota.
Fast-forward 19 months from that moment, and we’re here. While Hyundai has been involved in various forms of motorsport over the years, Genesis literally didn’t have any racing infrastructure of its own, let alone drivers, engineers, project managers, or partners.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the biggest, most in-your-face reason to applaud Genesis for its performance last weekend simply comes down to the fact that the automaker is still in its infancy. In just 10 years and eight months, Genesis has gone from being born as a standalone brand and developing a full lineup of vehicles to finishing the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s really somethin’.
“We faced a number of reliability challenges which will be our priority moving forward,” said team principal Cyril Abiteboul. “Despite this, the car showed strong potential throughout the week, especially during the first half of the race, where we were consistently fighting inside the top 10. While we faced challenges, the team showed great resilience, composure and teamwork. Everyone stayed focused, reacted calmly to every situation and worked together to achieve our goal. We leave Le Mans with the satisfaction of having achieved our main objective, but also with a very clear understanding of the areas we need to improve. Those priorities will help guide and unite us as we continue to build our foundations as a team.”
Abiteboul, who has decades of experience in everything from F1 to WRC, has been instrumental in the deployment of the new WEC team, which actually managed to score points in just the second round of the season at Spa. At Le Mans, the team made it into the Hyperpole shootout, and the No. 11 car qualified 11th and the No. 17 of André Lotterer, Luis Felipe Derani, and Mathys Jaubert in 13th, ahead of all three Ferraris and both Peugeots.
It’s for these reasons that Genesis can walk away with its head held high. As I’ve explained in two recent major stories—one with Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss and another with the leadership of the Audi F1 Team—putting people together in a shop or factory or garage doesn’t make a team. Getting them to think together, execute together, and have alignment is what makes a team, and that takes time. Also, it takes trial and error.
Jacky Ickx, arguably one of the best drivers in the world with victories and/or titles in F1, sports cars, and rally—and six Le Mans wins—serves as a Genesis brand partner and advisor. He’s gently influenced the gelling of the team and the deployment of the automaker’s resources. I caught up with the Belgian racer during the last hour of the race, where he candidly shared the monumental task that Genesis has overcome through the last year and a half.
“The human structure is the hardest part of a project,” Ickx told The Drive. ”You reunite people who have the same passion and expertise for what they are engaged in. But it has to be an orchestra. It’s very similar to a philharmonic orchestra, especially as the goal is concerned. The race is very demanding, especially today, because we no longer speak about endurance—it is endurance in terms of the distance, but it’s really a flat-out sprint race as far as the cars go.
“Back in my time, you had to be careful about the car, because you didn’t know exactly if we could make it or not make it. So you used the tools you had and adapted to the situations during the race. But today, it’s flat out,” he added.
To wrap up, I’ll share one of my favorite quotes from Ickx, who grew so excited and talked for so long that he almost missed the end of the race. He finally called it quits with about 30 minutes to the checkered flag, when he bolted out the door of Genesis’ pit-lane suite and headed toward the podium area to greet the eventual winners.
“This has all happened in just 18 months,” said Ickx. “Up until this moment, the team only has two races of experience. Regardless of the result, we are smiling because we are here, because we made it, because we ran, and because we exist.
“These mechanics and engineers have worked nonstop for almost a year, so you cannot imagine the satisfaction they felt when suddenly they discovered they made it and that the result of their work is quite good,” he added.
Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com