Jack Miller briefly put his Pramac Yamaha on top of the MotoGP timesheets at Phillip Island, only to suffer a high-speed crash moments later.
The Australian delighted the Australian fans by going fastest on fresh tyres in the closing stages of Friday morning's opening practice session.
But Miller's joy was short-lived as he promptly lost control of his M1 at the fearsome first corner.
The home hero, making his final Phillip Island MotoGP appearance before switching to WorldSBK, fortunately walked away unharmed and was eventually classified third.
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Ducati's reigning champion Marc Marquez topped the session on old tyres, ahead of defending Phillip Island winner Raul Fernandez.
The Trackhouse Aprilia rider also fitted fresh rubber after an earlier trip through the gravel and had his injured hand checked before returning to action.
Gresini Ducati replacement Iker Lecuona was the first rider to fall during the sunny but windy morning session, which also saw a spectacular engine failure for KTM's Brad Binder.
Friday afternoon's Practice session, which will decide the ten riders gaining direct access to Qualifying 2, begins at 3pm local time (5am UK).
Miller is joined in the Pramac garage this weekend by Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez, replacing the injured Toprak Razgatlioglu. Fernandez was 16th in FP1.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.