Genesis Magma Racing Thrills in Le Mans Debut

Just over 500 days ago, Korean luxury automaker Genesis announced that it was going to enter racing for the first time, after only existing as a brand for just over a decade. Genesis was really jumping into the deep end right away, too — not only would it be entering the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026, but it would also do so in the top Hypercar class. With the reveal of its GMR-001 LMDh prototype in December 2024, four months after the initial announcement, it became clear that Genesis wasn’t just blowing smoke. Things got even more exciting in November 2025. By that point, we knew the GMR-001’s twin-turbo V8 was two rally car engines put together, and we had seen the car in its final form and livery. The Magma Racing brand was spawning high-performance Magma road cars, making the racing efforts bankable. Six months before the team’s first race at Imola in April 2026, Genesis brought me to France where we got a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s Le Mans prep, and the company announced its intent to also join GT3 racing with the Magma GT concept. OK, now things were really getting serious. Fast forward to last weekend, and as it promised, Genesis was on the starting grid at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — and I was there, being hosted by the team for what was also my first time at the race. Le Mans was only the Magma Racing team’s third competitive start in its debut season this year. (To get acclimated with racing, Genesis fielded an Oreca 07 in the LMP2 class last year.

The GMR-001 had been under development with Oreca, and Genesis had already fielded an Oreca 07 in LMP2 last year to get acclimated.

Le Mans was only the team’s third competitive start of the season.

Genesis invited me to attend the race as a guest. The company provided travel, lodging, meals, and access to its hospitality, executives, and pit garage. I skipped dinner the first night to see Disclosure Day at a Parisian IMAX; it was worth it.

Genesis showed off big plans and a wild Box Buggy

On Friday morning, the automaker held a press conference, revealed an updated Magma GT concept, and debuted a Magma GT3 race car variant. The road car had a production-ready interior; the race car was already built to existing GT3 regulations. Hyundai Motor Group CEO José Muñoz said the company aims for five-times growth in Europe and 350,000 global vehicle sales by 2030. He described it as “untethered from legacy thinking.”

Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke, who originally pushed for Genesis to enter racing, said “life without motorsports is a very, very boring life.” In what the journalist called a better “one more thing” than Steve Jobs ever pulled off, Donckerwolke revealed the Box Buggy concept — a functional paddock cruiser that can drive sideways and spin in place. Staff drove it around the track all weekend, and Genesis plans to build more for events and golf tournaments.

At a roundtable with Muñoz, Donckerwolke, Genesis U.S. COO Tedros Mengiste, and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul (former Renault F1 boss), the executives stressed that racing is critical for the brand. “There’s nothing else in business that connects so directly between racing and selling,” Mengiste said. Abiteboul noted that 50% of the GT3 segment’s market share is held by three brands, which is why Genesis is taking the challenge seriously.

I asked Abiteboul what had been harder and easier than expected over the past 500 days. “Everything is complex,” he said of the difficulties. The ease came from thorough planning. “We had the opportunity to think the plan through exhaustively in a holistic manner,” he said, adding that competitors are already worried about the pace of Genesis’ program development.

The team’s look and feel stood out at the track

Genesis’ hospitality building, painted black with small logos, was three stories tall and bigger than nearby Ford, Aston Martin, Toyota, and Ferrari buildings. It sat just before the pit lane entrance, with viewing decks overlooking the final straight. Inside, the space was quiet and comfortable.

The Magma Racing branding uses a square-triangle-square logo based on the Korean characters for “Magma.” The orange gradient livery on the cars — a first for Le Mans — uses a doppler effect to symbolize speed and heat. Korean characters for Magma stretch across the bodywork. The team had about 400 media guests and plenty of employees in team colors, and fans in the crowd wore the same gear.

In the Manufacturer Village, Genesis had a large, shaded stand with an Electrified GV70, a long-wheelbase Electrified G80, and a full-scale GMR-001 model. But everyone was staring at the Magma GT3 concept. I did not buy any Genesis merch — I spent my money at Michelin’s booth on a hat and a bomber jacket.

The grid walk at Le Mans was the busiest and most energetic I’ve ever seen. The area around the two Genesis cars was constantly swarmed. Many South Koreans were there to see their country represented. The Aston Martin Valkyrie was probably the most popular car with the crowd overall — its naturally-aspirated V12 sound stopped people in their tracks every time it passed.

One thing that struck me was how respectful the crowd was. No one shoved, people were happy, and there was more diversity than expected. The DJ before the race played Daft Punk, Justice, remixes of “Sweet Caroline,” and “Y.M.C.A.” At the start, the cars did a flying start — not a standing one — as Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” blasted over the speakers.

Instead of staying overnight in spider-filled glamping tents, I took a sunset helicopter ride back to our chateau. We watched the race on TV, were attacked by a giant stag beetle, and at midnight saw a fireworks display and drone show. I fell asleep around 1 a.m.

By sunrise, car 17 had a suspension failure and retired. Car 19 stopped with a power issue, lost four laps, but got back into a groove. When I returned at 9 a.m., the energy was dampened from exhaustion, but as the final six hours approached, the crew got giddy again. We toured the pit garage and watched a quick pit stop from afar.

The race ended dramatically when Toyota beat BMW and Cadillac in the last three hours. Everyone in the Genesis building felt the excitement. Car 19 crossed the finish line, and every Genesis person I spoke to was just stoked they did it. “We are in the learning phase, here to train and develop,” Donckerwolke had said the day before. Abiteboul said in a statement that the team showed resilience and now has a clear understanding of areas to improve.

My biggest takeaway: Genesis is in racing for the long haul. The Magma GT3 could be competing by 2028. As global head Sean Lee put it, “this is our way forward, and we’re just getting started.”