Genesis Magma Racing has their brand new GMR-001 ready for the very first test.
The first chassis has been built by ORECA, and has been moved the team facility in Le Castellet, in basically a walking distance from the ORECA factory, with the final preparations currently ongoing.
The two drivers for the outfit, Pipo Derani and Andre Lotterer, have both got their custom made seats molded, prior to the very first shakedown, which has just been completed.
This is the first of three test chassis’s prior to homologation, which needs to be in place, before their first race in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The engine was fired up for the very first time last month, ahead of the preparations for the shakedown at Circuti Paul Ricard, where all the electrical and mechanical parts were checked.
Photo: Genesis Magma Racing
There will be several tests in the coming weeks, on several different tracks around Europe, so all the data from the simulator can be correlated to the actual car. Pipo Derani has left his run with CLX Motorsport in the European Le Mans Series, to fully focus on the testing with GMR, and Andre Lotterer has nothing else on his schedule, so the pair can do several thousand testing kilometers in the V8 powered car.
The team faces a huge time pressure in regards to testing and homologation of the car. So everything has to go smoothly, and that is one of the reasons why GMR has chosen to build 3 tests cars. We saw Lamborghini failing to do so in the past, when they had a massive shunt during their August 2023 test, which hampered their preparations prior to their race debut in February 2024. The last of testing has cost them dearly, which no major results, and the programme being put on hold for the 2026 season in both the FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Genesis Magma Racing will compete in the FIA WEC 2026 with two cars, before entering the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2027.
