Genesis will not enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the 2027 season.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal of Genesis Magma Racing, shared the latest update ahead of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will see the GMR-001 LMDh machine make its first appearance in the French endurance classic.
“We are now talking about ‘28,” Abitboul confirmed, during a media availability.
The Korean manufacturer is in its first season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and although there were plans of joining IMSA’s top ranked GTP class in 2027, it has been pushed back.
“The focus was… The first thing we wanted really to consolidate is WEC,” Abitebould.
“I’m the type of person who wants to do things step by step. I know that in motorsport, you need to be vigorous, you need to be well-organized. This program is a big program already. In particular, in the way that we wanted to do it, we decided to do it ourselves, with our own people, and therefore, it's taking a lot of time and attention, financial resources also, but more time and attention from a management perspective to make sure that we do it right.
“Frankly, I wanted to go into this race here in Le Mans to sort of be able to assess where we were and how we do against our plan. And from that, we will be able to judge where we can… what we should be doing next.”
'We also need to look at IMSA'
One of the concerns Abiteboul expressed was the recent developments that have led Acura to hit pause on its involvement in IMSA at the end of this year.
“Having said that, we also need to look at IMSA,” Abiteboul said. “We need to look at the dynamic of the championship. Of course, the news of Acura stopping is for us not good news, so we'd like to understand and to see what is the dynamic of the championship, what is the promoter's position on that, because at the end of the day, it's all about return on investment.”
Abiteboul stressed how important the market in the United States is for Genesis, with the country accounting for nearly one-third of the brand’s global volume. With that, there is a plan later this year when WEC goes to Circuit of The Americas for Lone Star Le Mans, set for Sept. 4-6.
“We will be doing a huge activation in Austin later this year,” he said. “I think this will be an interesting moment for us to decide if an expansion in IMSA (makes sense), to see the response of U.S. markets, the engagement with the fan, but also of the local market, which the U.S. market is an important market for Genesis.
“Around that time we will make the decision of the timing of entry into IMSA.”
Despite the delay, Abiteboul further expressed that entering IMSA is still a goal.
“Yeah, it's still part of the plan,” he said. “We need, again, to listen to what's going on in the world, but it's still our desire. Again, let's see when we are in Austin how we're feeling in U.S. markets, and from there, make the final decision.”
