Genesis Reveals Plans to Dive Into Top-Tier Endurance Racing

After years of teasing the world with sports car and race car concepts like the X Gran Racer and X Gran Berlinetta seen above, Genesis — the luxury branch of the Hyundai Motor Group — is finally set to make its entrance into the motorsports world. On September 12, motorsports' governing body, the FIA, announced via Instagram post that the Korean luxury brand is launching a bid to join the World Endurance Championship.

In a separate post co-shared on the Hyundai Motorsports and Genesis Worldwide social media accounts, the Korean company revealed it would be entering the LMDh, or Le Mans Daytona h, hypercar class. The FIA says Genesis's application is still subject to approval by the World Endurance Championship Selection Committee. Genesis did not specify a timeline for its entry into WEC racing.

This official news comes after rumors that Hyundai had formed an alliance with Oreca to build an LMDh car for the FIA World Endurance Championship, according to racer.com — which also reports that an IMSA GTP program may be likely to follow this WEC entrance. Chip Ganassi Racing is allegedly the front-runner in a service provider competition for the IMSA effort, though details remain sparse about the future of Hyundai's road racing endeavors.

To prepare for its WEC efforts and potential IMSA breakout, Hyundai is expected to compete in the LMP2 category for the 2025 European Le Mans Series season, according to multiple sources, though most likely without official company branding. This would allow the team to experience what it's like to work a proper endurance race, from maintenance to fuel burn to driver energy management, ahead of its official entrance into the sport.

Hyundai's motorsports legacy may not be as storied as brands like BMW or Toyota, but its 21st-century competition pedigree isn't one to scoff at. Thanks to a strong World Rally Championship program, the Hyundai Shell Mobis team managed to win the WRC two years in a row in 2020 and 2021 with its i20 coupe, and the same team currently leads the 2024 season as well.

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