Genesis ''could not have dreamt of a better place than Spa'' for maiden WEC points
- Marios Gantzoudis
- 59 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Genesis Magma Racing reflect on an ''extremely emotional'' 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps race, that saw the No.17 car overcome technical issues to score the team's first ever World Endurance Championship (WEC) points.
The second round of the WEC season, the 6 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps, proved to be a race of breakthroughs. BMW's maiden Hypercar victory with a 1-2 finish will undoubtedly grab the headlines, but the thrilling contest provided us with another one, as Genesis Magma Racing's No.17 car with Pipo Derani behind the wheel, crossed the line in eighth, giving the team their first points finish, in only their second ever start.
This was a remarkable result, especially as Genesis confirmed that the No.17 car, shared between Derani, Mathys Jaubert and Andre Lotterer, suffered from an issue that affected both power and energy consumption.
As Derani explained, talking after the race: ''We were battling some issues from the moment I got in the car. From that moment, I was trying to survive, understand what we could do to improve, and get the No.17 GMR-001 Hypercar to the checkered flag. I kept pushing Mathieu Leroy for a strategy to get track position in order to try and maybe hold the cars behind, because it was the only way we would get to the points. I was fighting to manage the energy, asking the engineers the numbers, but at the end we did just that, and I was able to hold quite a few cars behind. I just kept my head down''.
Leroy, the No.17 car's race engineer, received more praise from Jaubert, with the 21-year old saying that he did ''a mega job on the strategy''.
As was the case with the winning BMW and other cars, Genesis needed a bit of luck, as the safety car, brought out by the collision between the No.51 Ferrari and the No.32 BMW with an hour to go, allowed it to do an aggresive short-fueling strategy, with a further safety car due to the No.007 Aston Martin's crash helping realise it.
About that element, Jaubert went on to say: ''We might have been a bit lucky with the last full course yellow, but we had to be in the right place to be lucky''.
Genesis' most experienced driver, Andre Lotterer, also thought likewise, stating: ''The strategy came towards us, we were a bit aggressive, but we take it''. The two-time WEC champion also said that having such a result is ''very emotional for the whole team'', before praising his teammate, Derani, by saying: ''Pipo did some amazing defending. It was really a tough job for him, to be longer on the tires and also we had issues with the car that he had to manage, but he kept his cool and really really did a good job.''
Reflecting on the result, Genesis' team principal, Cyril Abiteboul, commented: ''In only our second participation in an Endurance race, we could not have dreamt of a better place than Spa to score the very first points in the history of Genesis Magma Racing. We are still a very young team and this result is an extremely emotional moment for all its members, and I hope that will make the entire Hyundai Motor Group proud''.
Though obviously happy, the Frenchman also mentioned that: ''We need to continue to consolidate our foundation so that we can be here and beyond on a regular basis, but it's great that it's coming now because it also gives us the momentum to tackle as many of the issues we have been facing before the next major milestone in our program in Le Mans.”
The story of the race was not so great for the sister No.19 car of Daniel Juncadella, Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin, with the car suffering from an electrical issue early on, that cost it seven laps, meaning there was no chance of a big result.
Still though as the team's Sporting director, Gabriele Tarquini explained: ''Despite improvements since Imola, the No.19 car unfortunately had some problems again. Step by step we need to climb the hill”.
Juncadella also emphasized the importance of completing the race, stating: ''It was a difficult race of course, because we had the electrical issue. But after that, a bit like in Imola, we drove to the end and we completed a lot of mileage, and we had encouraging pace''.
Genesis are not expected to repeat such a feat in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled to take place on June 10-14, but regardless achieving such a milestone early on, removes a lot of pressure and adds extra credibility about the project.
