Spanish star Maverick Vinales has continued his love affair with the Phillip Island circuit, the 2018 Australian MotoGP winner blitzing the field with the quickest time of Friday’s second free practice session.

The island’s notoriously changeable weather conditions were in full effect with the second session held in blazing sunshine after morning practice took place on a wet and slippery rain-affected track.

Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) was also fastest in the first session, but he asserted his dominance in the second with a lap almost half-a-second quicker than Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati.

Local hope Jack Miller, second in the first free practice, is still right in the hunt for a front-row start in Sunday’s 27-lap race after finishing fifth in second session.

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez was sixth in the afternoon session and appeared to be furious with teammate Jorge Lorenzo after the pair touched when Marquez was on a hot lap in the dying stages.

The drama continued for the Spaniard in the 20-minute tyre test that followed free practice.

Marquez saluted the crowd after he pulled off a stunning save when he lost the front wheel going into turn 10.

Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi has endured an indifferent campaign in 2019. But the Italian superstar showed encouraging early pace, posting the fourth-fastest time in the first session and the seventh in the afternoon as he looked to start his 400th race on the front row.

French rookie of the year Fabio Quartararo was forced to sit out the second session after suffering a badly bruised foot in a nasty crash in the morning.

The top 10 riders on aggregate across all three practice sessions go through to second qualifying on Saturday when they will fight it out for pole position for Sunday’s race.

The remainder of the field goes into the first qualifying session, with the top two riders earning entry into second qualifying.