Motorsport legend Jacky Ickx returns to Bathurst with Genesis

Motor racing legend Jacky Ickx will return to Mount Panorama for the first time since his 1977 Bathurst 1000 victory, driving the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Concept in its global racetrack debut.

The stunning Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Concept will thrill the crowds at the Bathurst 12 Hour endurance race (31 January - 2 February 2025), as Jacky Ickx gets behind the wheel for a series of spirited demonstration laps across the weekend.

This will be the first time anywhere in the world that the X Gran Berlinetta Concept will be seen driven in anger.

The Concept was first shown at the 2023 Gran Turismo World Series World Finals in Barcelona, Spain. It was created as part of Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo series and has been available to race in the virtual world of the game since January 2024.

The Genesis GV60 Magma Concept will also be cutting laps at the Bathurst 12 Hour, having recently won its class at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed – a hugely impressive first outing in what was the car’s global dynamic debut.

The bold-looking and ballistic-performing Genesis GV60 Magma Concept demonstrated its exceptional capabilities on the famous Goodwood Hillclimb, claiming a class win in the four-seater production car category, and taking an impressive 16^th place overall in the weekend's Shootout.

The GV60 Magma is on track to enter production later this year, becoming the first Genesis Magma model to go on sale. Genesis ultimately aims to develop a high-performance Magma model for each production vehicle in its lineup, maximising both aesthetics and performance.

Known within the world of Genesis as the “Gentleman Disruptor”, brand partner Jacky Ickx is the perfect collaborator as the luxury Korean marque launches its high-performance Magma program.

Ickx has an epic and enduring motorsport career that spans both formulae and eras, starting out racing motorcycles in 1960 before accelerating into the world of Formula One in 1967, winning eight races and scoring 25 podiums.

The Belgian simultaneously tackled the world of endurance racing, winning the grueling 24 Hour race of Le Mans a then-record six times, and in 1977 achieved his famous Bathurst 1000 win at his first visit to the track, co-driving for Alan Moffatt in the mighty Ford Falcon XC V8.

Head of Genesis Motors Australia, Justin Douglass, said he was beyond thrilled to have such a luminary of motor racing on hand for the racetrack debut of such important vehicles as the X Gran Berlinetta Concept and the GV60 Magma concept.

“With his phenomenal achievements over many years, his unique knowledge and a contributing strong desire to influence the automotive landscape, Jacky aligns perfectly with our brand,” Douglass said.

“As a prominent figure who has been consistently ingrained throughout the evolving automotive performance landscape over the years, it is an honour to have Jacky on board to help shape the future of Genesis.”

For his part, Ickx is excited about tackling the Mountain again, more than 40 years after his victory at one of global motorsport’s most iconic races.

“I have always admired Genesis for its cultured elegance and design aesthetics and sincerely believe in a relationship that is founded on authenticity and admiration for each other,” he said.

“I have also long admired Mount Panorama at Bathurst as one of the world’s great motor racing venues, and I can’t wait to put the incredible Genesis X Gran Berlinetta through its paces, for all the world to see.

“What I loved the first time was the atmosphere of Bathurst, it’s very special. The people are really passionate for motor racing. The success of the event is created by the public and the spectators and that was what was so nice about Bathurst.”

Furthermore, Genesis recently announced its intention to enter world of endurance motorsport with the launch of Genesis Magma Racing team and will compete in the prestigious World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2026, followed by the IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA) in 2027.

This exciting venture will put Genesis on the world’s most challenging tracks, showcasing the brand’s engineering expertise and endurance capabilities and bring the Genesis notion of Athletic Elegance to the world of motorsport.

By entering the LMDh sports prototype category, Genesis joins an elite group of manufacturers vying for success on the world’s most prestigious racing stages. Iconic endurance events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Daytona 24 require teams to balance peak performance with durability and efficiency, testing both machinery and drivers to their limits.