Jacky Ickx says Genesis is satisfied with the progress it has made in the nascent stages of its World Endurance Championship Hypercar programme, as it works towards its goal of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Hyundai’s luxury car brand entered the top class of the WEC this year, entering a pair of GMR-001 LMDh prototypes developed in conjunction with Oreca.
It was a major challenge for both Genesis and Hyundai Motorsport, neither of which had any prior experience in sportscar racing. The Korean manufacturer therefore faced a formidable task of developing a chassis and engine package while also building an operational team capable of running the car at the highest level of endurance racing.
In the first four races of the season, Genesis faced some teething reliability issues, but it has also shown flashes of pace, scoring points at Spa and qualifying sixth-quickest at both Le Mans and Sao Paolo.
Six-time Le Mans winner Ickx, who works as a sporting advisor for Genesis, says the team has all the ingredients to succeed in an ultra-competitive Hypercar category.
“To start something like that from scratch, completely scratch, because Genesis is young, it's only 10 years old, [is not easy],” Ickx told Motorsport.com.
“They are doing well in production cars and luxury cars, and the providence is to have a leader who wanted to enter into long-distance racing. Globally, you don't do it if you don't have the agreement of the chairman of the company.
“The tradition in Korea and their Confucian philosophy is that you don't give up. When something looks difficult, then you go for it, and you try to demonstrate that you can make the impossible possible.
“Clearly, we have the right ingredients, but we started from scratch, and we are very happy with our present moment. We learned a lot, and we know that we have the potential.
“But the goal, without any doubt, is to win. The ultimate goal is winning Le Mans, like everyone - that's the problem. The competition is high, but we are all very dedicated and proud to be busy doing that challenge.”
Genesis roped in Ickx during the early stages of its Hypercar project, drawing on his decades of experience in endurance racing with brands like Ford, Ferrari and Porsche.
The Belgian explained that his role focuses on ensuring the team works as a cohesive unit rather than coaching its drivers.
“When we talk about the passion of those who are working in the shade to prepare a car, the car is already a winning car before the race starts,” he said.
“The job at 90% is done before the start. It's up to the driver to finish the job. And it's part of the global project that means trying to reach the peak of the mountain and to win a race.
“The job is done 90% by people you never see. They get the satisfaction of the victory or the good result, but they are never shown in the light.
“People do it out of passion and there is no limit to passion. The goal is to win. The harder it is, the better it is, and that's what makes the challenge so interesting.
“That’s why we insist on the human aspect of the shared passion of so many talented individuals put together with one goal, winning.
“My role is to be there and to share the time and eventually the experience, the philosophy.
“But the cohesion remains the number one point in the success. And we believed that in the past, it's still valid today, except that it's more competitive than it was in the old days.”
