Derani: Genesis’ Next Step “Will Be Critical” to Ensure Success

Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI

Pipo Derani believes the next step for Genesis Magma Racing “will be critical” to ensure the team will be consistent contenders for top-five finishes and be in the mix with the likes of Toyota and Ferrari amid an increasingly competitive Hypercar field in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The Brazilian driver, who along with Andre Lotterer were announced as the first two drivers for the ground-up program, have been part of the Korean manufacturer’s venture into sports car racing from the start and has seen “massive” progress at various stages.

However, he has cautioned that a further step needs to be made soon in order to ensure the program can show up in its sophomore season near the front of the pack.

While having shown flashes of potential this season, the two-car squad has scored only a single points finish, an eighth pace result for Derani and co-drivers Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert in the No. 17 Genesis GMR-001 at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May.

“We have created a very good car from scratch,” Derani told Sportscar365. “The car is wellborn, which shows in some of the results we have shown so far because the cat was really well produced.

“In order to make the next step, in my opinion, it’s the hardest bit.

“To get from where we are to a potential constant top-five contender, it’s going to be much harder than the whole uphill battle we had until this point.

“I think we’ve over-achieved in many areas, considering that not just that we were a new program but also a new manufacturer in building engines for this specific kind of sport. Everything was really from scratch.

“Taking all of that into consideration, we definitely have achieved very, very good things so far.

“But the next step will be critical, which I mean [will be in] 2027.

“For us to have success next year, some of the things we see that are necessary to improve the program, those actions need to be taken now.

“You can’t wait another two or three years. By that point, you’re at the end of the calendar year. You don’t have much time to improve and to make those decisions.

“We need to be sharp on that, to be able to do the next step.”

Derani clarified making the “next step” in his mind is in relation to the team’s operation and not necessarily tied directly to potential Evo joker updates, which the Genesis has admitted they don’t feel “pressured” to implement.

“It’s in the sense of how the team operates,” he said. “What do we need in terms of personnel? What do we need in terms of people? What do we need in terms of structuring these people?

“With everything being so new, you try stuff. You put someone in a position but you maybe realize that person is better in another position.

“[It’s about] restructuring the whole thing so that at some point you feel like, ‘Ok, it’s now a very well-oiled machine’ and you improve the little bits and you become a solid, stable team.

“At the moment, we’re not quite there yet because it’s part of the process. We’re learning as we go.

“We have a wellborn car. The package is good enough to do what we’ve been doing, but in order to give that extra step to become a potential Toyota or Ferrari, you need the structure of the people to be very, very clear.”

First Two “Massive Steps” Came Last October, Prior to Imola Season Opener

Derani believes the program has made two big steps already, first in the early days of the on-track development in between tests at Magny-Cours last October, and one shortly before the season opener at Imola.

“We had a very steep curve at the beginning to climb,” he said. “Then during a certain period of time it felt like we weren’t actually moving.

“You just go through the process. The first few tests, you just try and even just drive the car out of the pits and it won’t drive out of the garage and then you come back and you have delays and so on.

“But then it felt like we made a massive step, which was great. We were able to start the season and were able to score out first points.

“It was somewhat of a surprise to us because it wasn’t a very linear progression. It was difficult, then boom, massive progression.

“The actual second big improvement was just before the first race. We went into the first race thinking we may face some issues and we pretty much faced no issues. That was a big jump.

“Then I felt from Imola until now we’ve somewhat plateaued a bit. In the sense that, yes, we’re making small progress every now and then, which is more or less normal.

“But we’re now looking for that third big step forward, which I don’t think is equipment-wise.

“I think it’s more structuring the team in a way that we can extract more from our people that as a consequence, we’ll be able to extract more out of our package.

When asked if the postponement of the season-opener in Qatar, which was due to be a ten-hour race, helped in any way, he admitted it was both “good and bad” for the program.

“Even if we had issues, I think it would have been a great learning curve for us if we had done Qatar,” he said. “However, if you ask me if we were ready to be able to operate Qatar as we did in Imola, no we were not.

“We needed that extra time as a team to be able to have things more sorted.”

Source: Sports Car 365