Johann Zarco continued his domination at Phillip Island as he swept Friday practice at the venue by topping FP2 ahead of VR46 Ducati rookie Marco Bezzecchi.
The Pramac Ducati rider spent the majority of the test getting up to speed on used rubber in order to collect valuable race data, while Honda’s Marc Marquez immediately shattered the fastest lap of the weekend just moments into the session with a 1:30.126s effort.
A sizeable lull in overall improvements came for the most part as the field looked at banking race simulation information, though session-best indicators duly returned as the minutes ticked down due to the emergence of the soft tyre qualifying runs.
Bezzecchi first went top with a 1:29.871s before Maverick Vinales and series leader Fabio Quartararo took turns at the head of the field, though the flying Bezzecchi managed to eclipse the lot of them to re-take the initiative on a 1:29.513s.
Zarco though struck when it mattered and snatched away the top spot with just moments to spare before the chequered flag brought an end to the session, the Frenchman’s 1:29.475s leaving him a slender 0.038s clear of Bezzecchi in the end.
Pol Espargaro fired an impressive final tour to secure the third-quickest time on his Honda, the Spaniard enjoying the cooler conditions seen on Friday at Phillip Island.
Quartararo ended up a solid fourth after losing time on his final effort having looked good to potentially move clear of Bezzecchi for second, while Vinales completed a strong day for Aprilia in fifth.
Marc Marquez was sixth ahead of the sister Aprilia entry of Aleix Espargaro, while title charger Francesco Bagnaia was the highest-placed factory Ducati rider in eighth just ahead of fellow Desmosedici pilot’s Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin.
Miguel Oliveira narrowly missed out on a overnight top ten placing for KTM in 11th overall just ahead of the returning Joan Mir who got the better of 16th-placed Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins, while home hero Jack Miller was a lowly 13th having failed to put a lap together at the end.
Alex Marquez also struggled to pull together a decent effort having lapped third-quickest in FP1 en-route to 14th on Friday afternoon, the LCR Honda rider just clear of Brad Binder on the other factory KTM.
Franco Morbidelli’s so far anonymous weekend continued in FP2 down in 19th just behind RNF Yamaha racer Cal Crutchlow, the Brit once again getting the better of the Italian in his fourth start of the year.
