Porsche’s new signing Fred Makowiecki voiced his delight
with the 911 RSR after winning first time out at Silverstone. The Frenchman,
who shared with Marco Holzer and Richard Leitz, won out in a tight
intra-Porsche battle with the no. 91 crew of Nick Tandy, Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick
Pilet when the latter came in for full wets just before the safety
car neutralised the race, which was halted with 20 minutes still on the clock
due to the atrocious conditions.
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| Makowiecki (centre) celebrates opening his account for the season with Holzer (left) and Leitz (right.) Credit: Porsche Motorsport |
“It’s a perfect start for me, even if it was a bit of a
lucky win,” said Makowiecki, who made the switch from Aston Martin over the
off-season. “I was a bit worried because the conditions were really difficult;
with our tyres it was really hard to follow the safety car and I was worried we
would aquaplane and crash the car, but it was not the case. Everybody worked so
well; we can be really proud of finishing first and second.”
Makowiecki was surprised by his former team’s disappointing
showing, particularly given their dominant form last year, with Darren Turner
and Stefan Mucke finishing a distant third. Only the pole-sitting Ferrari of
Gianmaria Bruni/ Toni Vilander posed any real threat to the duelling Porsches, although
a stop and go penalty for passing under yellows and a brief pit fire put pay to
their chances, but Makowiecki is wary of writing off their hopes over the
course of the championship.
“We had a big fight with the Ferrari at the beginning of the
race and we were really close, but it’s strange to see Aston so far off as last
year the car was really quick here,” he said. “But I don’t think it will stay
that way, we’ll have to see what happens. It’s very close between the
manufacturers, nobody really has an advantage over anyone else.”
Having not raced a Porsche since winning the French Carrera Cup in 2010, Makowiecki admits that a different driving style is required
to get the best out of the Porsche, but has no regrets about his decision to
switch camps.
“The car is different, but in the end it’s still one
steering wheel, three pedals and an engine,” he said. “I’m really happy because I’m in a great car;
Porsche did a great job last year and we continued to work over the winter to
improve so we could be perfect for the beginning of the season. I’m proud to be
in the Porsche family and I will try to do the best job possible.”
This piece also appears in the latest edition of e-Racing Magazine. Click here to see more news and reviews from the Silverstone weekend.
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