Genesis confident of ‘even better results’ after excelling in Austin
Genesis delivered a milestone performance at the Circuit of The Americas, converting practice pace into a landmark seventh-place finish during a gruelling six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship encounter.
The Korean marque demonstrated its front-running potential across the weekend in Austin’s competitive 17-car Hypercar field. Mathys Jaubert kicked off the momentum by setting the third-fastest time in FP2, before compatriot Mathieu Jaminet went second-quickest in FP3—ending up a mere 0.004 seconds off the top time. Both GMR-001 prototypes subsequently advanced into the top-ten Hyperpole shootout for just the second time, lining up eighth and tenth on the grid.
Lotterer’s charge and strategic fightback
When the green flag waved, two-time world champion André Lotterer made immediate gains in the #17 Genesis, gaining three places on the opening lap to reach fifth. After passing Alpine’s Ferdinand Habsburg for fourth, Lotterer’s progress hit a setback. A collision during an overtaking attempt on eventual winner Miguel Molina’s Ferrari spun the #17 to the rear of the field and resulted in a five-second time penalty.
What followed was a measured recovery drive by Lotterer, ‘Pipo’ Derani, and Jaubert, aided by multiple Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods. With just over an hour remaining, the team gambled on strategy during the final pit stop by changing only the left-side tyres. Rejoining track in contention, Jaubert—the youngest driver in the Hypercar class—battled wheel-to-wheel against rivals on fresh rubber. While crossing the line eighth, a penalty handed to the #12 Cadillac for leaving the track and gaining an advantage elevated the #17 crew to seventh, marking Genesis’ best result to date.
“I had a great start to move forward, and we managed to recover well from the early-race mishaps,” Lotterer stated. “The car was great to drive, and we were able to achieve some of our goals. We still need to improve some aspects, but we’re here to grow and to become stronger.”
“It was a crazy and very eventful race with lots of interventions,” added Derani. “Considering it’s our first year, I couldn’t be happier. I’m proud of how we evolved through the weekend.”
Faultless reliability in harsh Austin heat
The sister #19 machine, shared by Jaminet, Paul-Loup Chatin, and Daniel Juncadella, finished 15th, ensuring both cars reached the chequered flag on the lead lap. In a race dominated by changing conditions and extreme heat—where endurance teams across all categories, including the LMGT3 title battle, faced tough challenges—Genesis encountered zero mechanical problems.
Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini expressed satisfaction despite noting missed opportunities: “Overall, I’m very pleased with the performance we showed. It was our best finish of the year... The difference between all the cars was just a few tenths-of-a-second, which shows how tight the competition is.”
Chief Engineer Justin Taylor echoed the sentiment, calling the weekend a strong motivator while highlighting areas for execution refinement: “We need to polish up our procedures and be a bit smarter next time we come to the track to battle these guys.”
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.