The first Friday practice at Phillip Island kicked off with riders going immediately out on track. The Grand Prix is known for its unpredictable weather, as this time of year marks the beginning of spring in Australia.

For this weekend, we had Ai Ogura back after recovering from a hand injury. Meanwhile, Luca Savadori stepped in for Jorge Martín, Pol Espargaró replaced Maverick Viñales, and Michele Pirro filled in for Marc Márquez.

The first lap times were in the range of 1:32 to 1:35. After another round of attempts, the top five looked like this: Acosta, Bezzecchi, Álex Márquez, Zarco, and Espargaró.

Seven minutes into the session, the first yellow flag appeared, caused by Franco Morbidelli crashing at Turn 1. Meanwhile, the lap times were getting faster with every lap, and Marco Bezzecchi, along with Acosta and Álex Márquez, were the only riders setting times in the 1:29s.

So far, the results were mixed. While some riders such as Bezzecchi and Quartararo were near the front, others were struggling, including Bagnaia, who was down in 18th place.

After 18 minutes, the top ten looked like this: Binder, Bezzecchi, Quartararo, Álex Márquez, Acosta, Di Giannantonio, Miller, Mir, Aldeguer, and Espargaró. The times ranged from the 1:28s to the 1:34s, with Morbidelli having just returned to the track after his crash.

The times weren’t improving much as riders made their way into the pits. However, once they returned to the track, several managed to find improvements. While most riders were quick in sector one, they were losing time in the remaining sectors. Meanwhile, both Álex Márquez and Quartararo began fast laps, Álex took first place, while Quartararo made a mistake in the final sector and couldn’t improve.

With 15 minutes left in the session, the top ten was: Álex Márquez, Acosta, Zarco, Bezzecchi, Binder, Di Giannantonio, Mir, Quartararo, Bagnaia, and Fernández.

Bagnaia, who had spent most of the session near the back, managed to climb into the top ten, while his new teammate Michele Pirro was sitting in 20th place. Once again, most riders returned to the pits to talk with their mechanics before heading back out for their final attempts.

So far, Álex Márquez remained in the lead, while Bagnaia improved to sixth place. With just over two minutes left, the second yellow flag came out after Joan Mir went into the gravel due to a mechanical issue with his bike. In the final minutes, a yellow and red striped flag appeared in sector one, indicating debris on the track.

With the chequered flag out and riders finishing their final laps, Álex Márquez almost hit Miguel Oliveira from behind. This incident will be investigated by the race stewards, as it created a dangerous situation.

Ending the session, Jack Miller set a strong final lap to take first place. The top ten finished as follows: Miller, Álex Márquez, Acosta, Aldeguer, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Bagnaia, Zarco, Di Giannantonio, and Binder.