The Frenchman, who crashed from the lead at Silve💦rstone, repeated that position in qualifying before being pushed back to ninth on the opening lap of the race.

Zarco’s recovery was then interrupte꧒d by a near-miss with Enea Bastianini on lap 6, the Gresini rider losing front tyre pressure due to a damaged rim.

“I thinಌk on Saturday afternoon the others did a good step forward and for me it then became 🍎a bit more difficult,” said Zarco.

“Then, even if I missed a bit the start, it was not a drama, but the really key po🅰int came when I overtook Aleix [for fifth].

“I've been a bit unlucky because I was ready to come into the corner and just in that moment Enea got a technical problemꦰ and I almost hit him.

“I expe൲cted that he would come into the corner as normal and because he was kind of waiting, having this problem, I almost hit him and had to go straight.”

Zarco: 'Just when I was feeling I could stay with Fabio...'

Although ♈Zarco didn’t lose a lot of positions, he lost touch with countryman Fabio Quartararo, who would go on to claim second place behind Francesco Bagnaia.

“Just when I was feeling good🦩 and feeling that I could stay with Fabio, I went straight and from that moment it was quite hard,” said the Pramac Ducati ri✅der.

“The front tyre was getting hot and then it's moving. Then you do some mistakes and you feel that you cannot push much more. So I was kind o🍃f waiting, focused to do everything well and trying to cool down the front tyre.

“It worked ▨and at the end the speed was quite good, but only enough to save this fifth place, thanks to the [last lap] crash of Jorge.”

Zarco, still chasing his first MotoGP victory after finishing runner-up ten times, is fourth in𒀰 the world championship, between factory Ducati rider Bagnaia and Jack Miller.