Makowiecki Believes Porsche Penske is “Stronger” Than Ever

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Frederic Makowiecki said he’s been pleased with the step Porsche Penske Motorsport and the Porsche 963 have made during the off-season although stressed they need to “focus on our job” before getting too carried away heading into the this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship season opener.

Makowiecki, who set the quickest time in the two-day Prologue pre-season test, saw co-driver Matt Campbell record the quickest time in opening practice for Saturday’s Qatar 1812km at Lusail International Circuit.

“We are very happy with the evolution over the winter within the team, how we are working, in terms of operation we are stronger than last year and from that point of view the winter has been very productive for us,” Makowiecki told Sportscar365.

“In racing there are aspects that are not in our hands any more and we have to be proud of the job we are doing. On that point, I’m happy with the step we’ve done.”

When asked if he believes LMDh-based cars have more of a chance to fight for victories this year, the Frenchman indicated that he’s “here to win” rather than being on the other steps of the podium.

“The only thing I want to say is that in the past I’ve had very satisfying second places, because it was more than we thought was possible to achieve,” Makowiecki said. “That’s already a nice satisfaction.

“When the victory comes, for sure [it’s nice], but first we have to be satisfied about what we are doing.

“Definitely we are here to win, not finish P2 or P3. For sure we have the feeling we have never been so well prepared. Now we have to confirm it on track.”

Makowiecki said he’s quite happy with race pace of the Porsche, as seen so far this weekend in Qatar.

“It’s something normally we can struggle a bit, here I would say we are strong but this track is very specific,” he said. “I think it’s the only track where we have this layout and surface, where nobody has tire drop.

“The fuel effect is more important than anything else here. The tarmac is so smooth here. If you have no graining, you are the king. If you have graining, it’s another story.”

While the heavier LMH cars, such as the Toyota GR010 Hybrid have so far struggled in the sessions, Makowiecki said Porsche Penske has improved with tire graining since its initial test at the freshly resurfaced Lusail last November.

He said: “Graining is something specific, and this layout has the characteristic of having plenty of corners where the tire is not resting at all, to be capable of building up the temperature as it should be is very challenging.

“We worked hard on bringing up temperature in the tire.”

Makowiecki, however, admitted that it’s “difficult” to say where they stack up, especially this early into the event.

“We need to focus on our job, which is what we are doing now, and let’s get the conclusion from the race,” he said.

“For sure, we seem to be in quite a good position, but I don’t want to be over-excited and from that. When you get the chance, you must take it. You can’t make a mistake at this time.

“Our strength at the moment is to be concentrated and not too enthusiastic. We must stay with this philosophy until we cross the finish line, and if we are in first place, we can be enthusiastic for a moment.

“There have been times where things look too ‘shiny’, and then you destroy the result yourself by doing a mistake. This must not happen.

“In the WEC, we didn’t get a win yet, and this would be a big release in terms of pressure. We must stay concentrated until we get it.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John