Nicholas Latifi set the pace today on the second day of Formula 2 pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.
The DAMS ace clocked a fastest lap of one minute 40.541 seconds to top the times in a very competitive morning session, which saw each of the quickest seven drivers register a lap within the 1:40.000 mark. They were all also within just five-tenths of a second apart.
Russian Time teammates Luca Ghiotto and Artem Markelov followed. Ghiotto had a best lap of 1:40.678 while Markelov’s fastest mark was 1:40.702.
Jordan King of MP Motorsport was fourth with a best lap of 1:40.884, day one leader Charles Leclerc of Prema Racing came fifth on a 1:40.885 lap, and Norman Nato of Pertamina Arden was sixth with a 1:40.909 time.
Alexander Albon of ART Grand Prix was seventh with a best lap of 1:40.927. His teammate Nobuharu Matsushita rounded out the top eight on the classification with a mark of 1:41.057.
Each of the fastest eight in the morning had better times than afternoon session leader Nyck de Vries of Rapax, whose best following a mid-day break was 1:41.212.
A total of 20 drivers, representing 10 teams, took to BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track today for the second of three days of tests. The tests in Bahrain conclude on Friday (Editor’s note: March 31). The sessions are open to public. All those with tickets to the 2017 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix may attend free of charge.
The tests are a part of BIC’s "Race Fever" campaign, organised to help build up excitement ahead of this year’s Formula 1 extravaganza.
Tickets to the Bahrain Grand Prix are still available. Currently, they can be purchased online at www.bahraingp.com, by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000, or at the BIC Stand in Bahrain City Centre.
Formula 2 was recently rebranded from the GP2 Series heading into this season, which is its 13th. The new campaign gets underway in support of the Bahrain Grand Prix from April 14 to 16.

Source: BNA