Macau Grand Prix: Peter Hickman fastest from Davey Todd in opening free practice at Guia course

Hickman topped the times in the 45-minute session on the FHO Racing BMW by 1.264s from Davey Todd, who made a strong start on the Burrows Engineering/RK Racing BMW.

Todd is having a one-off ride for the Northern Ireland team at Macau, where he made his debut in 2018.

Erno Kostamo, last year’s winner, was third fastest on the Zero Up Racing Team by Penz BMW, 0.286s further adrift.

David Datzer was fourth on the MTP Racing by Zero Up Penz BMW, half-a-second behind Kostamo, with Phil Crowe (BMW) and Rob Hodson (SMT Racing Honda) rounding out the top six.

Michael Rutter, the most successful rider ever at Macau with nine wins, was seventh quickest (FHO Racing BMW) ahead of Julian Trummer (WH Racing powered by Dynobike Honda).

Magherafelt’s Paul Jordan was ninth on the Zero Up Racing Team by Penz BMW, 6.4s down on Hickman’s time, with Waterford’s Brian McCormack completing the top 10 on the Roadhouse Macau by FHO Racing BMW.

High-profile newcomer Josh Brookes was 12th fastest on the FHO Racing BMW behind fellow Australian David Johnson (Dafabet Kawasaki).

This year marks the 55th edition of the motorcycle race around the famous 3.8-mile street course, with many of the top names back in action after sitting out the event in 2022 due to Covid-19 quarantine measures.

Qualifying takes place on Friday with two 45-minute sessions ahead of the 12-lap race on Saturday (00:40 GMT).