Alongside the freeway that splits downtown in half, a billboard for a brokerage house stands. It boldly proclaims, "Invest with us," accompanied by the message, "Life is better with money!" This statement holds true as we find ourselves in Dubai, specifically on E 11, the longest road in the United Arab Emirates and known here as Sheikh Zayed Road. Dubai, the largest and richest of the Emirates, is a city that has witnessed remarkable growth over the years.

Unleashing the Racing Spirit in Dubai

Genesis: A Young and Wealthy City

Dubai was officially founded in 1833 as a tiny fishing village on the coast of the Arabian Gulf. Over time, it evolved into a more significant settlement, with around 50,000 people calling it home by 1966. The discovery of oil just off the coast in 1969 led to its rapid exportation, and since then, the population has surged to approximately 3.8 million in just 58 years. This rapid growth has made Dubai a very young and extremely wealthy city, with none of its skyscrapers looking more than 10 years old.

Hyundai Motor Company's luxury brand, Genesis, has found a home in this dynamic city. While there are Hyundais in Dubai, including some non-beige taxi cabs, there are also a significant number of Genesis products. The brand was established in 2015, and its first models reached showrooms in 2016. Genesis is now competing with premium brands that have a long history, such as BMW (1916) and Audi (1909), while the first Mercedes was sold in 1901. This makes Genesis a relatively new entrant in the luxury car market.

Genesis: The Racing Dream

Luc Donckerwolke, the president and chief creative officer for the Hyundai Motor Group, is a passionate motorsports fan. He believes that to take Genesis to the next level, the brand must participate in racing. The global rollout of Genesis has been gradual, and it is now working its way across Europe. If brand recognition leads to increased sales and motorsports enhances brand recognition, then it makes sense for Genesis to enter the racing arena.

Hyundai already participates in touring car racing, preceded briefly by corporate cousin Kia. However, Donckerwolke has bigger ambitions for Genesis. He aims to achieve an overall win at the most prestigious endurance race, Le Mans, and also hopes to win the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the Twelve Hours of Sebring. To achieve these goals, Genesis needs to design, develop, and test an entry for the top class of sports car racing and compete against established brands like Ferrari (which won in 2024), Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Isotta, and Alpine.

Genesis: The Birth of Magma Racing

Last September, Genesis Magma Racing was teased as the brand's plan to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2026. Although the odds are against them, the multinational team members are committed to the project. The name "Magma" comes from a project launched at the New York Auto Show last March to build a Magma version of most Genesis vehicles. Magma is similar to Mercedes AMG and BMW M-brand, but inclined towards more modest luxury performance.

The Genesis Magma Racing presentation at the Armani Hotel next to the Burj Khalifa featured Formula 1 legend Jacky Icyx, who was hired by Donckerwolke as a Genesis Official Brand Partner. Icyx's hiring, along with Cyril Abiteboul's appointment as team principal, indicates that Hyundai and Genesis have been planning something significant. Abiteboul, who played a role in Netflix's Drive to Survive, will now lead the Genesis Magma Racing team. The team will consist of two lead drivers, Andre Lotterer and Pipo Derani, who bring a wealth of racing experience.

Andre Lotterer and Pipo Derani: Racing Legends

Andre Lotterer, 43, is from Brazil and has three Le Mans wins and is a two-time WEC world champion. Pipo Derani, 31, is practically an honorary American driver. He came to the US in 2016 to drive in endurance races and has won the Rolex 24 and four overall victories at Sebring. In 2023, IMSA dropped the DPi car specs, and Derani left Whelen Engineering to sign with Genesis Magma.

Derani sees this opportunity as rare and hopes to use his experience to improve the Genesis race car. He will be developing the GMR-001 race car in 2025 and driving it in 2026 when it debuts in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lotterer and Derani will form a strong team, and Derani may also participate in some LMP2 races in 2025 to prepare for the full-time WEC season in 2026.

IDEC Sport: Preparing for the Future

Genesis will race in 2025 by contracting with IDEC Sport, a French race team competing in the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series. IDEC has raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2017 and achieved a best finish of third in class this year. Genesis has hired a young and interesting lineup of drivers for the IDEC car, including Logan Sargeant, Jamie Chadwick, and Mathys Jaubert. They will use this season as an audition to move up to the top league in 2026 or 2027.

Although LMP2 cars use a spec Oreca chassis and a spec British-built Gibson V-8 engine, the information gathered from IDEC will not directly translate to the new GMR-001. The GMR-001 will use a different Oreca chassis and a twin-turbocharged, 3.2-liter V-8 engine that shares some technology with Hyundai's World Rally engine. Engines are less important in WEC and IMSA than reliability. The decision to start with the WEC is based on the fact that much of the engineering work will be done in Germany and France.

Partnerships and Specifications

The Genesis Magma Racing team competing in the WEC will be operated by Genesis itself, while the American IMSA team will be run by a partner. Rumors suggest that the partner may be Chip Ganassi Racing, which ended its partnership with Cadillac at the end of 2024. Despite the European connection, the AMR-001 will be built to IMSA specifications as an LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid). Both series have equalized regulations using the Balance of Performance (BoP) to level the playing field.

No one at Genesis is underestimating the challenge, but Luc Donckerwolke is determined to win. He wants to change the motorsport culture in Korea, which is not well-established. With the support of a dedicated team and the right strategies, Genesis is ready to embark on this exciting racing journey and prove that life is indeed better with money.