For the LMDh formula’s newest manufacturer Genesis, signing up reigning FIA WEC Hypercar Drivers’ World Champion Andre Lotterer and two-time IMSA champion Pipo Derani to become its first two factory drivers was a bold, headline-grabbing move.
But Genesis feels its decision amounts to much more than just a flashy statement. It believes that bringing highly successful established prototype drivers onboard at this embryonic stage for its programme makes sense on multiple levels, as it moves towards its FIA WEC debut in 2026.
Both drivers have joined the South Korean brand ready for a fresh start after parting ways with major race and title-winning factory programmes at sportscar racing’s summit, but that’s sort of where the comparisons end. They found themselves attracted to Genesis and willing to join this ambitious new project for significantly different reasons.
For 43-year-old Lotterer, who is fresh from a title-winning campaign with Porsche in Hypercar, this is a move that will likely see him through to the end of his driving career after his original plans to stay with the German marque until retirement were scuppered.
“I was having a great run with Kevin (Estre) and Laurens (Vanthoor) for the WEC championship (in 2024), and when you are in a situation like this you look to build for the future,” he explained to DSC. “But in the summer I heard that the team might change from three to two drivers for most races and reduce the driver pool.
“Normally I would think to end my days at Porsche, that was the vision I had, but not yet. I still have a lot more in me, I want to race, but it wasn’t an option with Porsche so I took the initiative, didn’t waste much time and looked at what I could do.”
Thus, Lotterer found himself in talks with Genesis and willing to grasp the opportunity to help build something from the ground up with a manufacturer that’s highly ambitious and prepared to put everything in place to succeed.
“I got in touch with Cyril (Abiteboul, Genesis Magma Racing’s team principal) and he explained to me what the project looked like. I felt it would be a great story for me personally to be there at the beginning of a journey, bring all my input and have an important role.
“If I look back, after everything I’ve done in my career, this is inspiring and fulfilling and it’s fun to do a project like this. Even though I won’t be racing next year, it was a no-brainer for me.”
Even though I won’t be racing next year, it was a no-brainer for me
With Abiteboul making it clear at the programme launch that the young brand is committed through to at least the end of the current regulation cycle, Lotterer’s previous LMP1 and Hypercar experience looks set to be put to good use for years to come.
“I hope to stay with Genesis,” he said. “I am at the stage of my career where I am not going to change brands again. It would be satisfying for me to make a big contribution to building this team and making it the best there is, with the support of everyone. ”
He is under no illusions that building this team into a title contender in such a deep Hypercar field will be extremely tough. But, as he points out, the signs are there that Genesis is going about this the right way. It has partnered up with ORECA for its LMDh chassis, will spend a season preparing in the ELMS with IDEC Sport and is staffing up at a pace.
“The opportunity is there, there will be bumps in the road but if you compare it to entering an LMP1 programme back in the day, it wouldn’t be possible to do it in such a short period of time,” he continued.
“When Porsche decided to do LMP1 it took them years to put together resources and in the first year they were nowhere. Here, you have a partner like ORECA which gives you a good base and a proven base. This makes it easier for a team to enter and succeed with LMDh. It’s down to us to put together the right software and powertrain and extract reliability from the car.
“But there are definitely opportunities to do something early. It will be intense in the build-up and the more the team grows the more I will be involved. I live in Monaco and it’s based in Paul Ricard, so I can just go there any day.”
His pursuit of a fourth overall Le Mans win and third WEC title with a third manufacturer starts right now and looks set to be an intriguing storyline to track as we navigate the second half of the current decade.
Derani on the other hand, took a big risk. At 31-years-old and in the midst of his ‘prime’, the Brazillian decided to bet on himself by announcing his departure from Cadillac and Action Express Racing mid-season in 2024 to chase a WEC drive.
I had the desire to come and do WEC at some point in my career
This is something that General Motors was unable to offer him when he was looking to secure his 2025 plans. Crucially, he says, the final call on JOTA’s new two-car WEC programme with the V-Series.R came too late, at that point he had already made up his mind.
“I had to make a difficult decision,” Derani explained. “I was in touch with other manufacturers and it was looking good and I had a contract offer to stay. But I had the desire to come and do WEC at some point in my career. I was fighting for that because I knew if I signed for the years they offered to stay it would have been difficult to make this move, so I decided to leave.
“This move made sense for many reasons. First, I wanted to do WEC at some point in my career. The second is that I needed a new challenge after so many years in America.”
With wins at Sebring and Daytona under his belt, plus two IMSA Drivers’ titles, Derani felt he needed a change of scenery.
“After you’ve achieved so much you ask yourself: ‘what’s next’?” He said. “Yes I can stay and win and fight for a third championship or more wins at Sebring but at this point in my career, there is a greater value in building a programme from the ground up.
“You start getting complacent. Things started to become easy and I got to a point where I wasn’t pushing myself to go over the limit. When you start entering that comfort zone it can be dangerous.
“Searching for that change was the motivation behind leaving Action Express when I did. I had to make bold decisions when I was not signed with anybody, but it was important to make the decision myself, and stick to what I believed because if I tried it in three or four years time it would have been difficult. It had to be done.”
The only real downside is that he will not be seen in the top class of IMSA or the WEC in 2025, while he focuses on helping Genesis develop the GMR-001. But next year will not be a quiet one for Derani – or Lotterer for that matter – in the build-up to the programme’s race debut.
There are countless hours of simulator work and an intense track testing schedule to come, plus a Rolex 24 programme for the Brazilian in a DXDT Corvette. The future though, is with Genesis.
“I finished one contract one day and started this one the next,” Derani concluded. “The work has already started.”
Image credits: IMSA & Genesis
