Jack Miller’s lap time of 1m29.989s was the second fastest lap of the opening MotoGP free practice session at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The Aussie was hot on the heels of the session’s fastest rider, Maverick Vinales, who topped the timesheets with a 1m28.952s lap.

Trackside fans, who had waited patiently through varying weather conditions and a long oil spill delay, were finally given something to cheer about when the first MotoGP Free Practice session got underway just before 2pm.

Aussie Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing), put in a solid opening session on his Ducati, finishing second overall with a confidence-inspiring lap time that had his name pushing the top of the timesheets.

Fellow Aussie, Mike Jones, drafted into the Angel Nieto Team to fill the Ducati seat vacated by Álvaro Bautista, who in turn has been handed the injured Jorge Lorenzo’s factory Ducati seat, enjoyed his second home grand prix on a MotoGP machine, posting a best time of 1m35.012m to finish the session 24th overall. Jones once again proved his value as a fill-in rider keeping his MotoGP copybook unblotted.

Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales gave Yamaha fans some hope for the weekend, posting the fastest lap (1m28.952s), ahead of Jack Miller (1m29.989s) and fellow Alma Pramac Racing Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci (1m30.027s).

Newly-crowned world champion, Marc Marquez, suffered a crash over the top of Lukey Heights towards the end of the session but still managed to post the sixth fastest time (1m30.384s).

The MotoGP stars with have their second Free Practice session this afternoon.

By Chris Dobie