Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi has stamped his authority on the MotoGP field at Phillip Island, setting the fastest time in free practice one while title rival and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo could only muster sixth and crashed at the end of the session.
The Doctor lead for most of the session and posted a time of 1'31.032 which was a tenth of a second quicker than home favourite Casey Stoner, on the Marlboro Ducati and half a second ahead of third-placed man Dani Pedrosa.
Gresini Honda's Alex De Angelis was fourth fastest on a 1'31.786, Monster Yamaha's Colin Edwards fifth and Lorenzo sixth, more than a lap slower than Rossi on a 1'32.077.
Despite a low-speed off, Britain's James Toseland put in an impressive performance to finish in seventh on a track he knows well while the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso was eighth, Mika Kallio ninth and Loris Capirossi rounding out the top ten.
Kallio's team-mate Nico Canepa crashed heavily, damaging his right elbow and, after a trip to the medical centre, has been ruled out of the rest of the weekend.