The Briton was happy to return to the Australian circuit where he won the last Grand Prix contested here. The third man in the Honda team was once again very useful to the world's leading manufacturer in advancing its new engine. On this first day of testing, he obtained a brilliant fifth place for Team LCR, while Dani Pedrosa was in seventh position, and Jack Miller in ninth.
“It wasn't too bad today. We had a lot of little things we needed to sort out on the bike, and that meant a lot of short runs in and out of the pits, which cost us a little time, but overall I'm happy with our pace. We are again using the latest specification engine in Australia. You have to get used to all the riders at the moment, but we are happy with Honda's work and the way the team worked today.
“We now have two more days of testing, where we hope we can improve everything to go even further. We had a few other things we wanted to try today, but I didn't manage to get them all done. I felt good on the bike and comfortable. We know what me and the team are capable of doing at this circuit, and I think if we had the race tomorrow we would be in a similar position. I'm happy, but we still have to work hard because I still think we can have a better bike. »
| Pos | Pile | Team | Chrono | Difference | Laps | |
| 1 | MARCHEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 1:29.497 | 53 / 68 | ||
| 2 | Rossi, Valentine | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:29.683 | 0.186 | 76 / 77 | |
| 3 | P | IANNON, Andrew | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:29.926 | 0.429 | 68 / 70 |
| 4 | P | VIÑALES, Maverick | Yamaha Motor Racing | 1:29.989 | 0.492 | 26 / 64 |
| 5 | P | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | Honda LCR | 1:30.065 | 0.568 | 61 / 61 |
| 6 | P | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:30.262 | 0.765 | 87 / 87 |
| 7 | P | PEDROSA, Dani | Repsol Honda Team | 1:30.281 | 0.784 | 13 / 55 |
| 8 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrew | Ducati Team | 1:30.410 | 0.913 | 16 / 64 | |
| 9 | MILLER, Jack | Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1:30.426 | 0.929 | 80 / 82 | |
| 10 | P | Folger, Jonas | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:30.578 | 1.081 | 30 / 62 |
| 11 | P | LORENZO, Jorge | Ducati Team | 1:30.631 | 1.134 | 33 / 61 |
| 12 | P | BAUTISTA, Alvaro | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:30.770 | 1.273 | 24 / 68 |
| 13 | BARBERA, Hector | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:30.771 | 1.274 | 7 / 51 | |
| 14 | P | Espargaro, Aleix | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:30.802 | 1.305 | 26 / 28 |
| 15 | P | ZARCO, Johann | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:30.867 | 1.370 | 77 / 80 |
| 16 | ABRAHAM, Karel | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | 1:31.179 | 1.682 | 17 / 61 | |
| 17 | ESPARGARÓ, Pol | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:31.200 | 1.703 | 54 / 59 | |
| 18 | P | BAZ, Loris | Royal Esponsorama Racing | 1:31.249 | 1.752 | 56 / 60 |
| 19 | P | Rins, Alex | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:31.432 | 1.935 | 66 / 66 |
| 20 | REDDING, Scott | Octo Pramac Racing | 1:31.755 | 2.258 | 33 / 59 | |
| 21 | LOWES, Sam | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:32.307 | 2.810 | 15 / 35 | |
| 22 | P | SMITH, Bradley | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:32.690 | 3.193 | 43 / 57 |
