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Jacky Ickx believes Genesis has made encouraging progress in the early stages of its World Endurance Championship Hypercar programme, despite the reliability issues that have accompanied the manufacturer’s first season in the category.
Hyundai’s luxury brand entered the WEC’s top class this year with two GMR-001 LMDh prototypes, developed in conjunction with Oreca. The project represented a major undertaking for both Genesis and Hyundai Motorsport, neither of which had previous experience in sportscar racing.
That meant developing a chassis and engine package while also creating an operational team capable of competing at the highest level of endurance racing. The opening four races exposed some of the inevitable teething problems, but the programme has also demonstrated meaningful speed. Genesis scored points at Spa and qualified sixth-fastest at both Le Mans and São Paulo.
Ickx, a six-time Le Mans winner and sporting advisor to Genesis, says the project has the essential ingredients required to succeed in an intensely competitive Hypercar field. The wider development challenge is also reflected in McLaren’s progress towards its WEC Hypercar debut, another example of the preparation demanded before a new endurance programme reaches the grid.
“To start something like that from scratch, completely scratch, because Genesis is young, it's only 10 years old, [is not easy],” Ickx told Motorsport.com.
Ickx said Genesis is satisfied with its current position, having learned valuable lessons while establishing the programme, but stressed that progress alone is not the destination.
“Clearly, we have the right ingredients, but we started from scratch, and we are very happy with our present moment. We learned a lot, and we know that we have the potential,” he said.
The ambition is unequivocal: to win the Le Mans 24 Hours. Ickx acknowledged that every manufacturer in the category shares the same objective, making the challenge particularly demanding.
“But the goal, without any doubt, is to win. The ultimate goal is winning Le Mans, like everyone - that's the problem. The competition is high, but we are all very dedicated and proud to be busy doing that challenge.”
Ickx joined the project during its early stages, bringing experience gained with Ford, Ferrari and Porsche. However, his role is not to coach the drivers. Instead, he focuses on the cohesion of the entire organisation and on sharing his experience and philosophy with the people building the programme away from the spotlight.
“The job at 90% is done before the start. It's up to the driver to finish the job,” he said, emphasising the contribution of the many team members whose work is completed before race day.
For Ickx, that shared commitment is central to Genesis’s chances. “The cohesion remains the number one point in the success,” he said. “The goal is to win. The harder it is, the better it is.”
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.