Reigning world superbike champion Jonathan Rea clocked the fastest time in Tuesday's practice sessions ahead of the weekend's season-opening round at Phillip Island.
The British Kawasaki rider, who won both WorldSBK races at Phillip Island in 2016, charged around the 4.445km circuit in one minute 30.545 seconds.
Returning Italian Ducati pilot Marco Melandri nearly eclipsed Rea's time with his final flying lap of 1:30.575.
Most of the championship heavyweights moved towards the pointy end of the pack, with Melandri's teammate Chaz Davies (1:30.893) third on the timesheets, ahead of world No.2-ranked rider Tom Sykes (Kawasaki, 1:31.044) who slotted into fourth.
It was a dirty morning for Australian Josh Brookes who blew an engine on his opening lap, with a replacement being fitted on his Yamaha R1M.
Brookes set the 16th-fastest time after only completing the one session.
Further practice and then qualifying will take place at Phillip Island on Friday, before race one on Saturday and the second 22-lap race on Sunday.
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