Johann Zarco narrowly denied home favourite Jack Miller the top spot at the end of first practice for MotoGP’s return to Phillip Island.
Miller put in a flurry of quick times late on in the opening session for the series’ first Australian Grand Prix since 2019.
But traffic on his final lap left the door open for Pramac rider Zarco to pip the works Ducati by 0.091s with a 1m30.368s.
Alex Marquez popped in a surprise lap to go third for LCR Honda, ahead of Alex Rins’ Suzuki.
Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was the best of the three main title contenders in fifth, with Pecco Bagnaia’s Ducati eighth and Fabio Quartararo back in 12th but still fastest Yamaha.
The works Hondas, running Ducati-style ‘dinosaur’ winglets at the rear for the first time, spent a while in first and second before Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro fell to seventh and 11th by the end.
After rain in the build-up to the event, conditions were dry and sunny for the first practice – albeit with water still trickling across the track in spots at first and plenty of residual moisture on the kerbs.
And the field also had a reminder of the track’s unique obstacles when a wallaby ran across the circuit ahead of a gaggle of bikes early on.
Yep, we're definitely back in Phillip Island! 🦘😅#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/zSg7wUT32i
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 13, 2022
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1m30.368s | ||
| 2 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.091s | +0.091s | 1m30.459s |
| 3 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda | +0.034s | +0.125s | 1m30.493s |
| 4 | Alex Rins | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.018s | +0.143s | 1m30.511s |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.167s | +0.31s | 1m30.678s |
| 6 | Enea Bastianini | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | +0.112s | +0.422s | 1m30.79s |
| 7 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.107s | +0.529s | 1m30.897s |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | +0.18s | +0.709s | 1m31.077s |
| 9 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | +0.01s | +0.719s | 1m31.087s |
| 10 | Marco Bezzecchi | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.079s | +0.798s | 1m31.166s |
| 11 | Pol Espargaró | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.028s | +0.826s | 1m31.194s |
| 12 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.001s | +0.827s | 1m31.195s |
| 13 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.224s | +1.051s | 1m31.419s |
| 14 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | +0.017s | +1.068s | 1m31.436s |
| 15 | Joan Mir | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +0.095s | +1.163s | 1m31.531s |
| 16 | Darryn Binder | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.169s | +1.332s | 1m31.7s |
| 17 | Cal Crutchlow | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | +0.168s | +1.5s | 1m31.868s |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.082s | +1.582s | 1m31.95s |
| 19 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.228s | +1.81s | 1m32.178s |
| 20 | Remy Gardner | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.029s | +1.839s | 1m32.207s |
| 21 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.359s | +2.198s | 1m32.566s |
| 22 | Luca Marini | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | +0.265s | +2.463s | 1m32.831s |
| 23 | Raul Fernandez | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.116s | +2.579s | 1m32.947s |
| 24 | Tetsuta Nagashima | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | +1.49s | +4.069s | 1m34.437s |
