Genesis Magma Racing Gain Insight from Imola ELMS Challenge
Genesis Magma Racing left the 4 Hours of Imola with hard-won insight after Jamie Chadwick, Dani Juncadella, and Mathys Jaubert steered the #18 IDEC Sport-run Oreca to eleventh in the LMP2 class. Changeable weather and incident-packed action shaped the third European Le Mans Series round, yet the trio displayed front-running pace and unwavering determination.
The drivers and engineers pushed through the official test and two free practice sessions to perfect the car’s balance; Juncadella topped FP2 with an early qualifying-style lap. A pre-qualifying thunderstorm turned the grid-deciding session into a drying-track gamble, and late flyers shuffled the Spaniard to ninth.
Chadwick took the start, threaded through Imola’s early chaos and reached twelfth before a multi-car crash triggered a red flag. After the restart, the Race Engineer Mathieu Leroy called for a short fuel splash that vaulted the Briton into the lead behind the Safety Car. Traffic cost first place, but she still handed the wheel to Juncadella in second.
Running slicks on a damp surface, Juncadella battled low grip while rivals gambled on wets. The correct tyre call kept him fifth overall until a rare error at Variante Alta sent him across the gravel with 1 hour 45 minutes remaining. Rapid repairs returned the car to the fight, albeit down in twelfth.
Full-Course Yellows offered practice opportunities, and Jaubert rejoined behind the leader during a Safety Car, several laps adrift. Unfazed, the French teenager matched—and at times beat—the leaders’ pace and climbed to eleventh by the chequered flag. The finish surrendered the squad’s class lead, yet the weekend’s lessons will sharpen Genesis Magma Racing for Spa-Francorchamps on 22–24 August.
Jamie Chadwick said: “Obviously, where I was starting, it wasn’t so easy as track position is quite critical at Imola. When you're further back in the pack, it's always a little bit trickier. I was around a few of the pros, so I lost a few positions, but part of the game is not making any mistakes in the traffic, which we saw from a few others. After the red flag, the team did a great job with the short pit stop, filtering out to secure a good track position and taking the lead after the Safety Car was deployed. I lost the lead, but still had a reasonable stint, strong enough to slot into second, which was nice.”
Daniel Juncadella said, “In the mixed conditions, we made the right choice to stay on slicks; many people pitted for wet. Staying out was a better option, but I wasn’t feeling very comfortable and felt I was struggling to keep pace. It was looking good for a top-five result, but unfortunately, I made a mistake that I can't understand. I need to look back and see what I did wrong. It was a small mistake with a big consequence, as it threw away a good result, even though we were not the strongest team today. I'm sorry to the team and my teammates. This is the kind of weekend where lots of things happen and there's a lot to analyse, which you can use in the future.”
Mathys Jaubert said: “I gave everything to try to gain one lap because we were three laps down, but the other drivers were on the same pace and it's difficult - you can't overtake someone who is laps in front and then block them. My stint was mainly about staying out of trouble, and we got a bit unlucky with the last yellow., I had the opportunity to pit, but I didn't because of a miscommunication with my Race Engineer. We win together, we lose together, and we are here to learn; therefore, we have many valuable lessons to take away from this weekend. We had some good things, strong pace in all practice and sim qualifying – good things for sure.”
Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “The 4 Hours of Imola has been a difficult weekend for the team and our drivers, especially after the excellent start to the European Le Mans Series season. However, we have always viewed this season as an opportunity for us all to learn, and there are many lessons we can take away from the weekend to improve as a team. Jamie, Mathys, and Dani all showed great pace throughout the weekend, and the team still made many of the right strategic decisions. However, the difficult conditions highlighted that there are still areas for improvement. We will take those lessons on board, both for the rest of the ELMS season and for 2026 as we continue to prepare for the FIA World Endurance Championship.”
