The news came quietly on September 12, 2024, with a simple two-paragraph statement: Genesis and Hyundai Motorsport would be joining LMDh, part of the premier endurance racing class that competes in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) SportsCar Championship and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Endurance Championship (WEC). Although they didn’t offer any information beyond this, Hyundai and Genesis noted the program was a “natural fit” for their goals and offered a chance to “showcase Genesis’ cutting-edge technology, design philosophy, and performance-driven character.”
For American motorsports fans who focus on NASCAR and IndyCar, word of Genesis entering LMDh may not have even been a blip on the radar. However, the biggest prototype and sports car racing diehards realize how big a deal this is. Hyundai has made a name for itself in the worldwide racing arena over the last decade, and LMDh presents an opportunity to bring its luxury brand to the world’s biggest endurance racing stage by competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona, and other prestigious events. Are Hyundai and Genesis ready to wow sports car audiences? And what is LMDh, anyway? Join me as I look at why this pairing matters in the racing world and beyond.
Hyundai Motorsport: A Hidden Success Story
The current Hyundai Motorsport division is one of the newest among major automakers, officially breaking ground in 2012. Hyundai previously attempted to compete in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in the early 2000s through a partnership with the British company Motor Sports Development. Unfortunately, those efforts fizzled out when Hyundai pulled the plug late in the 2003 season. Originally, it intended to return to WRC in 2006 with an in-house team, but things took longer than planned.
The wait was worth it, though, when the results started rolling in. Using the specially developed Hyundai i20 WRC, the automaker fielded two WRC cars through the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team and a third entry under the Hyundai Motorsport N banner (the automaker’s high-performance brand). Hyundai Motorsport finished fourth in manufacturer’s points in its first season, with Thierry Neuville grabbing the overall win for Hyundai Motorsport at Rallye Deutschland. It was the only time a team other than Volkswagen Motorsports stood at the top of the podium that season.
In 2017, with the arrival of the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC, Hyundai merged its efforts into a single team. After a stretch of three straight years finishing runner-up on manufacturer’s points, the rebranded Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT broke through, winning the WRC title in 2019 and 2020. Three more years as runners-up followed, but Hyundai is leading the 2024 manufacturer’s standings as I write this. Neuville has been with them the whole way, winning 20 events and finishing second in the driver’s standings four times as part of Hyundai Motorsport. It’s safe to say Hyundai has gone from a rally-racing nobody to one of the sport’s kings.
Along the way, Hyundai Motorsport became a monster in Touring Car Racing (TCR). It unveiled work on the Hyundai i30 N touring car in early 2017, making its debut at the Touring Car Endurance Series 24 Hours of Misano. The next year, a pair of Hyundai teams made the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) their personal playground. M Racing-YMR won the team’s championship, while Gabriele Tarquini of BRC Racing Team took the driver’s championship.
Since then, Hyundai Motorsport has continued adding TCR championships to its trophy case, and it also has three straight TCR class wins in the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Sports car fans in America have taken notice of Hyundai Motorsport. In 2023, Hyundai won its fifth straight TCR driver’s championship in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge—and took the team and manufacturer titles for a fourth straight year.
What Is LMDh?
Now, Hyundai Motorsport brings its impressive résumé from the past decade to LMDh. To fully understand why this is significant, I need to explain LMDh. Short for Le Mans Daytona Hybrid, this sports prototype classification was developed by IMSA and debuted in 2023 as part of the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class and the FIA WEC Hypercar class. In both cases, LMDh competes alongside Le Mans Hypercar (LMH), which replaced Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) as the top FIA prototype class in 2021.
What’s the difference between LMH and LMDh? These top-of-the-line prototypes look similar and share many characteristics, including a 500 kW (670 hp) max total output, a 1,030 kg (2,271 lb) minimum weight, and Michelin tires. Three key factors, though, set them apart. First, in LMH, teams can design, develop, and build every component of the car in-house. For LMDh, an unspecified percentage of parts must be “off the shelf.” This includes the chassis and suspension, which are produced by four approved manufacturers: Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic, and Oreca. Teams come up with their own internal combustion engine, electronics, and body.
The second divergence lies in the hybrid powertrain system. For LMH, a hybrid system is optional. If teams use one, it must be limited to a 200 kW output and be installed on the front axle. Hybrids are mandatory in LMDh but are a spec design. They make 50 kW of power and go on the rear axle. Finally, there is no official cost cap in LMH. An LMDh team, though, is limited to spending one million Euros (approximately $1 million) on all components except the engine.
Despite these variations, the regulations set by the FIA and IMSA regarding power, weight, aerodynamics, and more make LMH and LMDh cars perform almost identically—what has been referred to as the “Balance of Performance.” Teams can theoretically spend a lot less on an LMDh car and still be competitive, thus lowering the barrier of entry. While Genesis has not yet addressed why it chose the LMDh category over LMH, I have to believe this was one of the reasons.
Speculating a bit, I think the other big reason is the mandated hybrid powertrain. Hyundai has touted itself as the world leader in hybrid vehicle sales, and Genesis has announced that all of its models will soon have hybrid options. It is firmly committed to hybrid technology, and now it can showcase that in racing.
What Genesis’s Racing Future Could Hold
As I mentioned, details regarding the Genesis LMDh entry are sparse. Hyundai Motorsport hasn’t said when it will debut, what chassis it will use, what it’s looking to develop for an engine, or even why it chose Genesis over the Hyundai N brand that has served them so well in WRC and TRC racing. Regarding the last point, although I don’t have any inside information, I suspect the Genesis decision has to do with existing IMSA GTP teams being dominated by luxury brands like Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and Lamborghini. As such, Hyundai can go head to head with its luxury vehicle opponents on the track as well as off.
Given how Hyundai Motorsport has blown the competition away on the rally circuit, I won’t be surprised if it arrives with a bang when it finally joins LMDh. It is worth noting that this past June, the LMH and LMDh rules were extended for two years. They now run through the 2029 season, giving Hyundai plenty of time to get a vehicle to the grid—and me time to mentally prepare for seeing a Genesis on the 24 Hours of Daytona grid. I’ll have my notifications set to alert me when there’s more news about this forthcoming GTP team.
