Chadwick Has “One Eye on the Ultimate Goal” of Hypercar Drive

Photo: Jamie Chadwick

Jamie Chadwick says she will have “one eye on the ultimate goal of one day progressing into Hypercar” in her upcoming European Le Mans Series LMP2 campaign and debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Genesis-backed IDEC Sport crew.

Chadwick, an accomplished driver in the open-wheel ranks, will share the Genesis-backed No. 18 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 Gibson with Dani Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert in ELMS this season, with Andre Lotterer coming on board to fill in for the GM-contracted driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“LMP2 in ELMS is really competitive and a really good opportunity for me,” Chadwick told Sportscar365. “I’m a Silver-graded driver, and I think the way it works with the grading system there can really help me learn and develop in my first year.

“With the Genesis backing, it [puts] a little bit of a one eye on the ultimate goal one day of progressing into Hypercar.”

The car’s three drivers are part of a trajectory program aimed at a potential elevation to a Hypercar seat once the Genesis Magma Racing LMDh effort comes online for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season.

The Korean brand will base its upcoming LMDh machine on an ORECA chassis and will utilize IDEC’s two-car ELMS program to help prepare for its foray into top-class endurance racing.

“We’re also going to be a bit involved with learning about the development process,” Chadwick said. “I think being involved in the beginning is also going be great to learn as much as possible. So it’s really exciting.

“There’s a lot of KPIs (key performance indicators) and all these things to hit to guarantee anything in Hypercar, but it’s great to have that alignment at this stage.”

Aside from her ELMS campaign, Chadwick will also be making her Le Mans debut this year and is currently the only nominated driver aboard the No. 18 LMP2 entry per the recently-released Le Mans entry list.

Chadwick feels her ELMS campaign and inaugural Le Mans outing will help her prepare for a potential Hypercar seat “in every sense.”

“Endurance racing, I’ve done a little bit of previously in GT4,” she said. “But in LMP2, it’s going to be a much bigger challenge. So I think getting acclimatized in ELMS, but then Le Mans is obviously the big race. [My] first 24-hour race in LMP2.

“I’m really excited for multi-class racing, the rules, the difference in driving style for an endurance race, all these things, and having teammates as well. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and excited to see what the year has in store.”

Chadwick returns to the world of endurance racing after an open-wheel career that yielded three W Series titles, alongside her most recent race-winning INDY NXT campaign with Andretti Global over the past two seasons.

“I’ve always said endurance racing is somewhere I’d love to end up,” Chadwick said. “There’s so many bucket list races I’ve had on my list. Daytona is one of them, but Le Mans is another one.

“It’s coming a little bit earlier than I expected, but it’s somewhere I really feel like I can find a home and settle in to. I just want to learn as much as I can in my first year and try and be as competitive as possible. Let’s see what I can do.”