Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin complete Genesis Magma Racing’s 2026 WEC driver line-up
Genesis Magma Racing has completed its driver line-up for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, announcing experienced Hypercar class drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin. The pair join André Lotterer, Pipo Derani, Dani Juncadella and their fellow Frenchman Mathys Jaubert on the roster for the season.
Experience and pedigree complete Genesis Magma Racing squad
Jaminet and Chatin bring considerable Hypercar and endurance racing experience to their new team, further strengthening Genesis Magma Racing’s stable of drivers ahead of their competitive debut.
Genesis Magma Racing Sporting Director Gabriele Tarquini said: “The addition of Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin completes a well-balanced line-up for our debut WEC season. They are the perfect point between the experience we have in André Lotterer and Pipo Derani, and the potential we see in Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella.”
“We have an amazing line-up for Genesis Magma Racing’s first year in the FIA World Endurance Championship,” said Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. “The combination of drivers that we have secured far exceeds any expectation we had when we began the project. It is a huge mark of the trust these race winners and champions have placed in our young team, Genesis and the broader Hyundai Motor Group. I am sure they will create huge motivation and a virtuous circle for the team that is coming together very nicely at our base in Signes.”
Jaminet has become a stalwart of worldwide endurance racing paddocks, first in the GT classes before graduating to the Hypercar and GTP class of WEC and IMSA respectively. He won the 2022 GTD Pro class title in the North America-based series and moved to the premier class the following season. Since then, he has collected five overall victories and a further eight podiums, including results in the series’ headline endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta.“I’m very happy to be joining Genesis Magma Racing,” said Jaminet. “This is the start of a new chapter, a new history for me. This team offers me that opportunity to go racing in the WEC and hopefully in the future also the IMSA series.”
He added: “I wanted to have a fresh start with new people to try to step up but also bring my experience to a new team and work to build something incredible for the future. Obviously, the road will be long with a new team but I’m really excited and looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
He has contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times – once in LMGTE Pro and three times in Hypercar and has completed a partial schedule in the WEC this year, scoring a best finish of fourth in Japan.
WEC race winner Chatin brings important development knowledge to new team
At the same event, Chatin joined the list of WEC race winners as part of the team that won the 6 Hours of Fuji. On top of 15 starts in the top class of the championship, he crucially brings more experience of the Oreca chassis which forms the basis of the GMR-001 Hypercar. His knowledge about previous development of the platform will add another important element to the final preparations of the car for its competitive debut and the further testing to be completed during the 2026 season.Chatin said: “I am truly honored and proud to join the Genesis Magma Racing adventure in Hypercar. First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who made this opportunity possible. After two enriching years with Alpine Endurance Team and the recent success in Fuji, I feel more ready than ever to take on this new challenge”
“Genesis is still a young brand, but its values and ambitions immediately resonated with me,” he added. “I’m well aware of the challenges that await us, but I have full confidence in our team’s talent and determination to quickly move forward and fight for top positions.”
Chatin is also a familiar face to Juncadella and Jaubert, having been part of the driving squad for the sister IDEC Sport entry to the Genesis Magma Racing Trajectory drivers’ car in the European Le Mans Series throughout 2025.Final tests give team opportunities to assess potential driver partnerships
The arrival of Jaminet and Chatin adds one more element to Genesis Magma Racing’s development. Jaminet was part of the team’s latest endurance test, which took place at the MotorLand Aragon circuit (November 15-17). Joining previously announced drivers André Lotterer, Pipo Derani, Mathys Jaubert and Dani Juncadella, as well as recently announced Reserve Driver Jamie Chadwick, Jaminet completed stints throughout the test where the team was able to take a major step in confirming the reliability essential to its first steps in WEC competition.
“I had to adapt a little bit,” Jaminet said after his first laps in the GMR-001 Hypercar. “The car requires a different driving style compared to what I am used to. It seems to like a nice big corners. It's actually quite nice. At this stage every lap is really important for a driver. You need to understand all the systems, all the buttons on the steering wheel and all the procedures.”
He added: “I think I come in with different feedback on a few things. I'm one of the most experienced drivers with LMDh cars and obviously I was in a different car not long ago. I tried to not get too much feedback from the other drivers – I really wanted to make my opinion, also for the engineers. The idea was not to provide me with too much information to really start from a white sheet of paper to tell them what I think.”
The drivers’ performance and feedback, as well as the working dynamics with the team’s other drivers, will be assessed by Genesis Magma Racing team management, led by Tarquini and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul to decide the exact driving line-up for the team’s pair of FIA World Endurance Championship entries.
“The chemistry between drivers in the car is vital when it comes to success,” said Tarquini. “Through the tests we can see how the drivers work together, see how their driving styles and set-up preferences match, and how the relationships begin to form before deciding our line-ups for the season. The key will be to make sure we have the best possible squad of drivers in both cars to help us create the strong foundations we need as a team.”
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