Genesis concludes a "promising" test session at Magny-Cours

By choosing the microclimate of the Nièvre region in late October, Genesis' management could legitimately expect less than ideal weather for their three-day test with the GMR-001. This is undoubtedly why they chose the Magny-Cours circuit for their testing from October 28th to 30th.

After successfully completing its initial tests, the Genesis prototype had yet to complete laps in the rain, and plans were in place to artificially water the Magny-Cours track. Rain ultimately arrived in the Nièvre region before then, allowing the team to gather data ahead of the GMR-001's official debut in 2026.

These three days of testing have allowed us to focus our work on optimizing performance. “We are continuing to develop the GMR-001 Hypercar, but we are now working on another aspect: performance.”explains sporting director Gabriele Tarquini. “We need to build a kind of ‘toolbox’ for setup in all conditions, so that drivers can always adapt the car and attack, regardless of the track conditions.”

“We want to cover many more kilometers, but these three days have been very positive.” Tarquini continues. "Everyone is happy with the car's behavior in the rain, and the drivers were able to provide good feedback. We encountered a few minor issues, but we resolved them quickly, and we know which direction to take for the next tests, which will be very important."

ALSO READ > Anouck Abadie, Team Manager of Genesis Magma Racing: "Starting from scratch is incredible"

Discovered in the rain

It was also an opportunity for the four regular drivers to continue their learning behind the wheel of the GMR-001, notably Dani Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert, the least experienced in Hypercar. "The car performed very well in the rain. We drove on a wet track, but also in very wet conditions overnight." Jaubert explains. "Overall, we've made significant improvements to the systems, particularly the traction control. It's difficult to compare since we were alone on the track, but the car's balance is excellent."

"It was a good test for me personally, as I was able to accumulate more kilometers with the car," Dani Juncadella is delighted. "But it was also a very good test because, for the first time, we had different conditions on the same circuit, which allowed us to experiment with different mechanical settings. We have always moved in the right direction."

An opinion shared by the most experienced, André Lotterer and Pipo Derani. "We drove for the first time with a tire close to the 2026 specification, which allowed us to evaluate the behavior of rain tires with our car," explains the German. “We also worked on our systems for the first time in these conditions, which was very important. We learned how to manage traction control and gear changes so that everything works perfectly in the wet.”

"Based on our previous tests, I think we've made a lot of progress on the systems side," complete Derani. "Now that the stabilization phase is well underway, we can begin to fully exploit the potential of the GMR-001 package and focus more on performance."

Performance was the key word for Gabriele Tarquini during the French trials, who wants "To build a kind of 'toolbox' for adjustments in all conditions, so that drivers can always adapt the car and attack, regardless of the track conditions."