Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul says he is targeting Q1 of 2026 to make a final decision on which team the Korean brand will partner with for its forthcoming IMSA GTP programme with the GMR-001.
Speaking with reporters in Barcelona last week at a three-day test for its new challenger, the Frenchman gave an update on the status of Genesis’ plans to enter IMSA’s top class with its ORECA-based LMDh prototype in 2027.
He didn’t give any hints as to which teams are still in the frame to become the service provider for the effort, but he did shed more light on the timeline. Currently, Bryan Herta Autosport is believed to be the leading contender, though key discussions are understood to have also involved a variety of organisations, including AO Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing and Pratt Miller Motorsport.
“It will be in association with another team,” he reiterated. “The benefit of having our own team in WEC was clear. I can’t say the same with IMSA, which is a slightly different type of championship with its own spirit and culture.
“We want to have maximum integration. There may be engineers working on both programmes, Justin Taylor, for instance, as he has experience in both championships.
“There have been lots of discussions, meetings, and we’ve visited a lot of possible partner bases and facilities. I am focused on that (WEC) right now. I want to make sure that it is up and running at the right level with the right level of people. Once I have the confidence I want with that, we will make the next move, which is IMSA.
“I am setting myself the target of bringing a proposal to headquarters in Q1 of 2026 and starting to work with that partner from that point, so we can enter the championship at some point in 2027.”
Abiteboul had previously hinted to DSC that Genesis may delay its IMSA debut until after the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in 2027, due to the tricky timing of the event (held each year in January) and the challenge of starting a new programme with a 24-hour race. “We’re talking about a six-month window that will extend from the end of ’26 to sort of the second quarter of 2027,” he said back in May when asked about the potential entry point to the championship.
That plan has since evolved, with Genesis looking to take a more cautious approach to joining the premier North American championship. The six-hour endurance race at Watkins Glen mid-season has been tipped as the potential debut event for the effort.
“One compromise we have made is we were flirting with the idea of starting at the start of 2027, but it was always going to be a bad idea,” he admitted. “The first race is Daytona, a brutal start; you need to qualify in November. It’s stretching the calendar too much, so we will probably enter at some point, probably around Watkins Glen. That’s a possible new target in 2027.
“Making sure that this (WEC) is correct is important. If the car were unreliable, I would not start sending cars around the world. First priority is the quality of the product, then we can expand.
“We are flirting with the idea of one car earlier for all of 2027 as development, or two cars later when we are at a higher readiness level. It’s more, two cars when we are ready. We don’t have an absolute time. We’d like to be part of it; it’s a good championship, but the timing is whenever we are ready.
“We have a three-year plan with ORECA for production requirements, including IMSA. They know when to produce our cars. We’ve laid out an ambitious long-term plan. We know when we have to ship those and start testing there.”
