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Genesis driver Daniel Juncadella has taken full responsibility and apologised for the opening-lap mistake that dropped the No. 19 prototype to the back of the pack during the 6 Hours of Barcelona in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Starting third on the grid, the home favourite made a brilliant getaway. Juncadella passed Sebastien Buemi's Toyota and Genesis teammate Andre Lotterer to seize the lead heading into Turn 1. However, on a greasy track following overnight rain, the Spaniard ran wide at Turn 5. The costly error dropped him down to 16th, ahead only of the No. 35 Alpine that had spun off immediately after the start.
Two early safety car periods allowed Juncadella to fight his way back into the top 10 by the end of the opening hour, despite a couple more off-track excursions. As the asphalt dried out, however, the Korean manufacturer struggled for the race pace needed to stay in points contention.
In the end, Juncadella and co-drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin brought their Genesis GMR-001 home in 11th place in class, finishing one lap behind the race-winning No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid piloted by Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa, and Brendon Hartley.
Speaking after the race, the 35-year-old Spaniard pulled no punches regarding the missed opportunity to score their first points of the season:
"I completely messed up. I apologise to the whole team. The race became even harder later on with a few more setbacks, but we keep pushing forward. The result is definitely disappointing. There is a lot to analyse, but personally, it was just a bad day at the office. I had a great start, everything felt fantastic through the first four corners, but I misjudged the grip and my braking point. Going from first to last is a painful feeling."
"We were very strong in wet conditions and I managed to climb up to eighth, but as the track dried out, we weren't as competitive as we'd hoped. Minor setbacks throughout the race pegged us back, and even though we were a lap down, we almost salvaged some points, but unfortunately it wasn't to be."
The weekend had started with great promise for the Korean marque at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In Saturday's qualifying, Mathis Jaubert secured a maiden Hypercar pole position in the No. 17 car, while Jaminet set the third-fastest time in the sister machine, highlighting their blistering single-lap pace.
However, Genesis' race plans unravelled within the opening hour as a flurry of incidents and mechanical issues took both Oreca-built chassis out of the fight for points. Lotterer surrendered the lead off the line before suffering from traction control gremlins. After running wide and tumbling to 14th, the German veteran picked up a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement, leaving the No. 17 entry shared with Jaubert and Pipo Derani a lap adrift.
Chief race engineer Justin Taylor noted that the Barcelona outing underlined the steep learning curve facing the team in the premier class:
"Today was a real character-building day for everyone—drivers, engineers, and mechanics alike. Given the pace we showed on Saturday, expectations were understandably high, but it's clear we still have a lot to learn. We ran into several minor technical glitches that took too long to fix and ultimately proved costly. It's all part of the growing pains. We need to dissect the issues and make sure we come back stronger and better prepared for Monza."
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