Dominant this off-season, the new Yamaha recruit Maverick Vinales this time was satisfied with the fourth time on this first day of tests at Phillip Island. His time, however, remains below the symbolic bar of 1'30 per lap while his teammate Valentino Rossi ahead of him, as is his old Suzuki now in the hands of Iannone. But the Spaniard assures: setting a time was not the objective of the day.
When drawing conclusions from this start of trials in Australia, Casa Particular in Viñales also agreed with his illustrious teammate to designate Marc Márquez like the man to beat with a Honda ultimately not so bad at all! “ The most important thing is to find a good overall rhythm. On this point, Márquez is really good so we need to improve on this point ". A feeling shared by Valentino Rossi.
The Yamaha troops are therefore mobilized: “ we are not that far but we cannot be happy with the results yet. Today we worked well, especially with the worn tires. We tried new settings. This track is more difficult for Yamaha. With the Suzuki it was different because it is more agile. It's easier with it to find and keep a good trajectory. I had to change my bearings. But we are making progress and that is the most important thing ».
He finishes : " in the last ten minutes I put the new tire on and moved back in the hierarchy, but being in front was not the goal. When I wanted to set a time, it was very windy. I still remained the fastest in the third sector. I had a good pace this afternoon. I feel better on the bike and we are making progress on certain aspects including electronics. We also tried things on the chassis. In fact, I tested so many things that I didn't really know what I had on the bike anymore. More seriously, today was a good day ". These Australian tests will continue until February 17.
| 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 |
