Fabio di Giannantonio was the top Ducati rider on the opening day of Practice at the Australian Grand Prix.

The opening day of the Australian Grand Prix saw Fabio di Giannantonio end Practice as the fastest Ducati rider, as he ended the day in third place.

Di Giannantonio has previous form around Phillip Island, as he claimed his first MotoGP podium at the circuit in 2023 when he rode for the Gresini Racing squad.

The Italian had a strong race pace and good front feeling at the end of his opening day, but believes he still has work to do on his time attack pace.

"I enjoy riding here so much, this place is heaven, it is incredible," Di Giannantonio told MotoGP.com after Practice on Friday afternoon.

"I really bring a lot of energy and motivation to this track because I want to enjoy every lap that we do here this weekend. Because this has happened such a low number of times this year.

"But it has been a positive day, we have been quite fast. The feeling from the front has been really good from the beginning, and that is everything for a rider, especially on a weekend like this with so many fast corners.

"We have been working in a positive way, in the right way, everything was getting better and better. At the end, I was able to do a good time attack. We still have a couple of tenths to improve for the time attack, but the race pace was definitely there today."

When asked if he is one of the favourites for the Australian Grand Prix, the Italian shut down early talk by reminding everyone 'it is only Friday' and that he must keep his 'feet on the ground'.

"Let's see, it is only Friday," he stated.

"But today we rode really well, that is the truth. We rode really well with used tyres, and I was going fast. So, let's see, we will bring this energy for tomorrow; we still have a lot of work to do.

"It is only Friday, so feet on the ground, but it was a great start from the Digia team."