Ciconte pleased to be reaping the benefits of extra seat time after ‘rewarding’ Day 2 in Bahrain

Joanne Ciconte was very satisfied with her progress as she and MP Motorsport delivered another strong day of running on Day 2 of in-season testing in Bahrain.

After scoring two top-six times on Day 1, the Wella driver made another step forward, finishing second in the morning by only 0.098s to teammate Maya Weug. Her 2:04.665 ended up as the fourth-fastest time of the day and Ciconte was pleased to have made the most out of the additional track time.

“It’s very, very positive,” she began. “I was able to have more seat time than usual, so that's really benefited my driving. As a team, we all did really great. This circuit is incredible to push the limits and improve within your driving skills, It's been pretty positive couple of days for us and I'm looking forward for tomorrow.”

Ciconte’s lack of experience has held her back on occasions throughout her rookie season, but the 16-year-old has looked increasingly more comfortable behind the wheel as the campaign has progressed — with the times across both days of testing being a clear sign of her rate of improvement.

Asked whether she felt more confident in her ability to find the limit around the track, Ciconte replied: “100%! This track has a lot of run-off, so I think it’s a great idea that we came here, especially for me as a rookie this year.

“It’s all about building confidence and pushing to the limits. I think that I did quite a good job and it’s really rewarding to be quick and show some potential.”

READ MORE: Weug leads the field on Day 2 of testing in Bahrain

Looking ahead to the final six hours of track time around the Bahrain International Circuit, Ciconte’s priorities remain unchanged, and she is optimistic that the work she and MP have put in should stand her in good stead for the final race of the season in Las Vegas.

“To be honest, I don’t have any expectations,” said Ciconte. “My goal is to keep improving within my driving. Obviously, we’ve been really fast today and yesterday, so I want to keep at that pace and we’ll see where I end up.”

She added: “After the test in Bahrain, I’m feeling more confident and motivated to race in Las Vegas. I think it will be a good one for the team.”