Genesis Magma Racing’s chief engineer, Justin Taylor, has emphasised that the team should not feel compelled to pursue an Evo upgrade simply because the World Endurance Championship (WEC) allows multiple joker deployments to be used by a Hypercar manufacturer. The rules permit five Evo jokers to be used to improve specific parts of a car during an initial phase that runs through 2027. However, Genesis only joined the WEC this season, which means its window for using those jokers is comparatively short before they expire.
Taylor underscored the importance of avoiding a wholesale transformation of the GMR-001 solely to dodge the risk of losing jokers. He told Sportscar365 that the team is still assessing the package it currently has and is not close to committing to a specific path regarding how many jokers Genesis might opt to use.
“At the moment we’re still evaluating the package we currently have to try to make decisions on the future, so we’re far from deciding one way or the other,” Taylor said in relation to the number of jokers Genesis may use.
“It’s well known we have quite a few jokers we would need to use in the course of two years but, if you do that, it needs to really count.”
“I don’t want to say it’s a disadvantage, but we want to make sure that we’re not pressured into feeling like we need to do an Evo just because we have them.”
“We need to make sure we understand what we’ve got before we do that — and I think we’re still not there yet, we still need more racing.”
“We learn some things in the races that were different than what we originally thought so that all needs to be taken into account before we play a joker or Evo.”
Taylor noted that postponing the Qatar season-opening because of the broader Middle East conflict, initially pushed to later in the season and then replaced by a Barcelona race in October, has further complicated how decisions around joker usage are made.
“It would’ve been great to have had that sample early on in the program,” he commented regarding the originally planned ten-hour Qatar race in March.
As a result, he suggested Genesis would likely start to develop a more detailed plan for joker deployment only after the Lone Star Le Mans round at the Circuit of The Americas in September.
Taylor’s cautious stance was echoed by Genesis technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison, who pointed out that in order to evolve the car you need to gain real-world experience, put in the driving and learn where improvements are required; otherwise, there would be a rush to act.
“To be able to develop the car you need to get a bit of experience and driving and learning and to know where to because otherwise we would’ve done it straight away,” Demaison explained.
“This year is really for us to learn all of the new tracks and then see what is needed and next year we have a few jokers available. But first we have to identify what we need to improve.”
Demaison also stressed that certain upgrades can be pursued without resorting to jokers. He highlighted the potential gains to be made in power management and engine management, noting that improvements in electronic systems could be pursued at no extra joker cost.
“There’s so much to be gained in power management, engine management — and this is free,” he said of potential electronic improvements.
Taylor admitted that the rapid progress in control systems since he last worked on the Cadillac V-Series.R before joining Genesis has been one of the season’s surprises. He observed that the pace of advancement in the electronic and control realms has been notable across the grid, and that Genesis has considerable ground to cover.
“Just being away myself from the series for one year, to see how far people have come in terms of systems and what they’re doing — we have a lot of catching up to do,” he explained.
“We’re working hard to catch up and we’re not going to do that through one or two or three races but by the end of the year our goal is to be more or less on the level [of rival squads].”
Despite the conservative approach to jokers and a cautious development path, Genesis has enjoyed a positive first season in the WEC. The manufacturer’s best result thus far remains an eighth-place finish, and it has even achieved the milestone of leading a practice session for the first time during the most recent event in Sao Paulo.
