Rain and strong winds pounded the Island circuit for most of the day, but cleared for the Moto2 session, and Maxwell responded with a brilliant first-up performance to record a time of 1.38.355.

The Victorian-based ASBK rider was bumped down the order after holding his own in the top 15 for much of the one hour session.

Maxwell looked comfortable in his Matteoni attire and responded on the track, clocking a top speed of 259.1kph during his 20 laps of the circuit.

After a slow start it was Alex Cudlin who made big moves through the field as the practice session went on.

The wildcard rider was in brilliant touch in the final 15 minutes of the session, recording a fastest lap of 1.39.449, setting him into 28th position.

Fellow Aussie and Moto2 regular Anthony West faded after a strong start, but still managed to creep inside the top 30, clocking a fastest lap just .051 seconds behind Cudlin.

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