"It’s a dream every time I get in the car: it’s just so cool to be here and to be driving...."

BIC, Sakhir – McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen set the pace today on an eventful second day of Formula One pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. After clocking the best time of the Jerez tests in January, the Danish rookie put on another display of his undeniable potential as he outshined some of his more experienced counterparts with a fastest lap of one minute 34.910 seconds. Magnussen’s mark was nearly two seconds quicker than the best time of day one, set by Force India counterpart Nico Hulkenberg at 1:36.880. Hulkenberg was again among the leaders today but eventually had to settle for the second-fastest lap 1.535 seconds off Magnussen’s pace. Magnussen put in 46 laps of work around BIC’s 5.412-kilometre track, whereas Hulkenberg was out for 59 laps. Fernando Alonso put Ferrari in third 1.606s behind Magnussen. Last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix pole-sitter Nico Rosberg of Mercedes was fourth 2.055s back.

Magnussen said  “It’s a dream every time I get in the car: it’s just so cool to be here and to be driving. I’m really enjoying it.“Unfortunately, we didn’t get too many laps done this morning, but it was good to get some laps done at the end of the day. The afternoon was good for us, and we worked through our problems. The team is doing a great job to help me: they’re giving me really good guidance and making me feel confident. There’s a lot of discussion about laptimes, and it feels good to get some good times recorded, but winter testing is just that – testing. It isn’t about times. We’re still learning a lot about the car. We have four more days of testing next week and there’s still a lot of work to do. I’m sure everything up and down the pitlane will change a lot between now and Australia.”

Both drivers were able to maintain their good pre-season pace, as each got plenty of time out on track with Alonso running for 97 laps and Rosberg out for 85. The busiest man for the day was Valtteri Bottas of Williams, who had an outing of 116 laps. He was fifth on the timesheet with a 2.418s gap from the leader.

Meanwhile, the Renault-powered teams of World champions Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Caterhamand Lotus began to show signs of life after a dismal pre-season thus far.Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Caterham were all able to register more than 50 laps of testing today.

Kamui Kobayashi of Caterham had the sixth-quickest lap although was still 4.945s off of Magnussen’s leading mark. World champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull followed 5.430s behind, while Jean-Eric Vergne driving for sister team Toro Rosso was eighth-quickest 5.699s from first.

Rounding out the times in ninth through 11th, respectively, were Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez (+5.807s), Lotus’ Romain Grosjean (6.760s) and Marussia’s Max Chilton (+7.601s). Testing continues tomorrow (Friday, February 21) at BIC, “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

Magnussen will be handing over his testing duties to teammate Jenson Button, while Lewis Hamilton will be back in his Mercedes seat alternating with Rosberg. Alonso will be making way for Kimi Raikkonen, while Hulkenberg will hand over testing duties to Sergio Perez.

Daniel Ricciardo will take over testing for Red Bull, Pastor Maldonado will be in for Lotus, while Marcus Ericsson will be testing for Caterham. Also scheduled to go out on track Friday are Jules Bianchi for Marussia, Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso. Tomorrow’s testers for Williams and Sauber were not known as of late this afternoon.

Friday will be the first of back-to-back open days for fans at BIC. Saturday will also be open to the general public. A short break will then ensue, before testing resumes on February 27 and continues until March 2. Two more open days will be held next week, on February 28 and March 1.

Tickets to each open test day cost BD5 per person. They can be purchased at the gate or at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre or Seef Mall, online at www.bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.

Fans will be able to watch the testing from BIC’s Main Grandstand, which overlooks the Formula One pit lane, team garages and the circuit’s main straight. Doors will be open to the public from 9am to 5pm. The new Formula One season is set to kick off just two weeks after the second session of testing at BIC. The Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is the third of 19 races this season, taking place April 4-5-6 in Sakhir. Tickets for the Grand Prix are also now on sale. They can be purchased at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre or Seef Mall; online at www.bahraingp.com or on the official BIC page on Facebook; or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.

DAY TWO TIMES AND TOTAL LAPS: 1 Kevin MAGNUSSEN DEN McLaren Mercedes (1:34.910) 46 laps 2 Nico HULKENBERG DEU Force India (1:36.445) 59 laps 3 Fernando ALONSO ESP Ferrari (1:36.516) 97 laps 4 Nico ROSBERG DEU Mercedes (1:36.965) 85 laps 5 Valtteri BOTTAS FIN Williams (1:37.328) 116 laps 6 Kamui KOBAYASHI JPN Caterham (1:39.855) 66 laps 7 Sebastian VETTEL DEU Red Bull Racing (1:40.340) 59 laps 8 Jean Eric VERGNE FRA Toro Rosso (1:40.609) 58 laps 9 Esteban GUTIERREZ MEX Sauber (1:40.717) 55 laps 10 Romain GROSJEAN FRA Lotus (1:41.670) 18 laps 11 Max CHILTON GBR Marussia (1:42.511) 17 laps