DUBAI (Reuters) - Hyundai's luxury Genesis brand will compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which has the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its jewel in the crown, from 2026 with a hypercar entry.
The Genesis Magma Racing team project was presented at an event in Dubai on Wednesday.
Germany's Andre Lotterer, WEC champion with Porsche this year and a three times Le Mans winner, will be joined by Brazilian Pipo Derani, winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, in the two car WEC entry.
Former Caterham and Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul, who currently leads the Hyundai world rally team that won this year's drivers' title with Belgian Thierry Neuville, will be principal of the Le Castellet-based team.
The LMDh (Le Mans Daytona) GMR-001 hypercar will use a chassis developed by Le Mans regulars Oreca, who also work with Renault-owned Alpine and Honda's Acura.
Genesis will also run a European Le Mans Series (ELMS) project with IDEC Sport next year and enter the U.S.-based IMSA sportscar championship in 2027.
The ELMS LMP2 drivers will include former Williams Formula One driver Logan Sargeant and Jamie Chadwick, a three-times winner of the now-defunct all-female W Series, and 19-year-old French racer Mathys Jaubert.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
