- Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory programme drivers Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella scored LMP2 class victory on their debut together in the European Le Mans Series
- The trio took the IDEC Sport-run, Genesis Magma Racing-liveried car to second overall in a historic result to start the manufacturer’s time racing on track
- All three drivers played a crucial role to secure the result from the four-hour race, with strategy, experience and race-craft all playing a part
- Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul heralded the “exemplary” performance by drivers and team to start the season
Frankfurt, Germany, 7 April 2025: Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory programme drivers Jamie Chadwick, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella scored a stunning class win on their debut in the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Chadwick, who completed a double stint to start the race, became the first female winner in the premier category of the championship, joining her teammates on the podium after Jaubert achieved second place overall at the end of the four-hour season opener.
Strategy, experience and pace all play a role to secure victory
All three of the drivers in the #18 IDEC Sport-run Oreca 07 played a vital part on the path to the class win – a historic start to the on-track presence of Genesis Magma Racing.
Jamie Chadwick started the car from fifth place, secured by Jaubert in Saturday’s qualifying session. By her own admission, Chadwick struggled in traffic through her double stint, particularly while the pack remained tightly bunched after the start. The team, which included nine members of Genesis Magma Racing integrated into the IDEC Sport team for the weekend, began to focus on strategy, opting to extend Chadwick’s second stint. Stretching the fuel bought the team a crucial few laps, creating the perfect opportunity to pit during a Virtual Safety Car and vault up the order to fourth.
After the restart, Juncadella continued the progress, quickly moving up to second to cement the #18 car’s place among the front-runners. Also completing a double stint and having to retake second place, the Spanish driver was able to take advantage of another Virtual Safety Car to pit, allowing Mathys Jaubert to take over for the final 1h:17m of the four-hour event.
In the midst of tightly packed lead group, the 20-year-old Frenchman had to both defend and attack, taking advantage when the leader was held up by a GT car to make an opportunistic move into the penultimate corner to take the top spot. He held the position until half a lap from the chequered flag, when a car from the LMP2 Pro-Am class, on far fresher tyres than Jaubert, made the pass for the overall victory. Still, second overall and victory in the LMP2 class delivered a historic result to begin Genesis Magma Racing’s presence on the racetrack.
Post race quotes - #18 IDEC Sport Oreca 07
Jamie Chadwick said: “Starting off in this position is fantastic. I’m really impressed by the job that my two teammates and the IDEC Sport team performed with the execution of the strategy. It was incredible. I knew what we were doing with the strategy after my pace started to drop off, but I was thinking ‘we’ve missed the window now, we’re going to be way off’, and just as I got the fuel alarm the Virtual Safety Car came out. It couldn’t have been better timing. From a personal point of view, it doesn't mean so much to be the first female winner in ELMS’ top class, but it's great for the sport. That’s four female winners in ELMS today [with Iron Dames winning LMGT3]. I’m very proud to be a woman in motorsport today.”
Daniel Juncadella said: “I’m obviously over the moon with this result, it's unreal. I didn't come in with too many expectations to be fair. This is a new series for me, a new car, a new team. Winning at home in front of family and friends, it's just unreal. My stint was great, I enjoyed it out there. I think I keep learning every time, learning new things and loving it. Jamie is making really good steps. She made an amazing start, then struggled a bit in in the traffic, which is the hardest part of endurance racing, where she’s still inexperienced, but she kept her foot down. We got lucky with the VSC and then I gave the car in P2 to Mathys and he did just what he knows best. I think not many people know him yet, but what a little star he is. He gave us the first win. A great start to the ELMS season.”
Mathys Jaubert said: “What a result. I didn't realise at the time but it's so amazing for us and Genesis Magma Racing. A first race and a first win with three rookies in the car. My last stint was mega. After the Safety Car everyone was fighting, but it's very, very hard to overtake, because when you are behind you have so much understeer in fast corners. So, you are just waiting with traffic and take the opportunity to overtake. And this is what I did. A GT car blocked the leader, and I took the risk to overtake. I looked for the gap and I went for it. After that I had really good pace. Then it was just to manage the tyres and fuel for the end. Unfortunately, one car had two new tyres, but I knew that he was in a different class, so if I finished in front or behind him, we would take the points for the championship, so I didn't block him too much.”
Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “We couldn't have wished for a better start to Genesis’ endurance adventure. The Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory programme drivers delivered an exemplary, error-free race. The team provided them with a high-performance, reliable car, and a particularly inspired race strategy from their race engineer, who is one of the team members from Genesis Magma Racing integrated into IDEC Sport to learn about endurance racing. While this start is a good sign, we must remain realistic about the level of competition.”
About Genesis
Founded in South Korea, Genesis offers premium cars with a luxury experience and is committed to delivering an exceptional service to its customers. From its European headquarters in Frankfurt, Genesis Motor Europe operates in Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Since launching in Europe in 2021, the brand has received multiple company and product award wins across all three markets.
The Genesis range includes three dynamic pure electric models as well as the most recent addition, Genesis G90, the brand’s flagship luxury saloon. Central to Genesis' identity is the distinctive design language of 'Athletic Elegance', blended with the very latest technology to deliver state-of-the-art customer features. Genesis is dedicated to a sustainable future and aims to become a carbon net zero by 2035.
For more information about Genesis and its definition of premium, please visit www.genesis.com.
