Porsche has struggled to challenge Le Mans Hypercar manufacturers Toyota and Ferrari on its return to the top echelon of sportscar racing this year, managing only one podium with its 963 LMDh.
The result in April’s Portimao round came after both Toyota (sensor) and Ferrari (front-axle brake-by-wire) were delayed, while Porsche lost out on a podium at Spa to Ferrari on the final lap.
At the most recent round in Monza, Porsche was only the fourth-fastest manufacturer in the Hypercar class, as Peugeot made a big leap to take its maiden WEC podium behind the winning Toyota and second-placed Ferrari.
But Makowiecki, who shares the #5 Penske-run Porsche 963 with Dane Cameron and Michael Christensen, is hoping Porsche can return to the podium as the WEC moves to Asia for the final leg of the season.
Insight: How American racing’s greatest rivalry has gone global in the WEC
The Frenchman told Autosport that Porsche has "a better chance here than Bahrain" of finishing on the podium, as the 963 LMDh lacks the kind of consistency required to excel in the dry/night Bahrain 8 Hours title decider.
“In general the consistency is not where we are the strongest - and probably Bahrain is the hardest track for that," he said. “Let's see, but I would suspect Bahrain could be harder for us.”
Makowiecki explained that Porsche suffers from higher degradation and a general lack of grip, but feels the German marque needs to improve in every area to take the fight to the front.
“There is not one part where we are lacking more,” he said. “It's a more global approach where we need to improve a little bit everywhere and if we do this we will be stronger.
Source: Autosport