The VR46 Ducati rider was never able to make an impression ov🦩er the 23 laps, dropping from seventh to ninth and only regaining a place when Alex Marquez fell with eight laps to go.

“I don't know,” Bezzecchi shrugged, when asked what had gone wrong🍨. “But it was not lik༺e in the practices or in the Sprint.

“We have to ch🤪eck, but I felt very bad since the second corner, and from tha🌳t moment, I understood that my race was going to be very very difficult.

“Unfoꦐrtunately I didn't have feeling a🥂t all with the bike. We have to check, but it's very strange, because we didn't touch the bike, but I struggled a lot.

“I was having many problems with the front feeling, losing the front many times. I couldn't get close to any rider, because then I wﷺas also not stopping anymore.”

Bezzecchi’s words pointed to some kind of front tyre issue, but when asked directly he re🔯plied: “Still I don't know.”

Like many, the #72 had switched from the soft to medium rear for the longer race, but highlighted: “This morning [in warm-up] with the medium, I was first. And yesterday with the medium, I was very very fast. So my bike was good with 🐎medium and soft.

“But it was more on the front, I felt very bad with the front, I had no fܫeeling, I couldn't brake late, I couldn't go in with the brakes. And when I was close I couꩲldn't stop. I always go wide, I struggled all the race.”

The only positive was that “until🔥 the race today I was very fast.”

Bezzecchi, whoꦑse team-mate Luca Marini finished fourth, has now slipped 21 points behind double winner Bagnaia heading into this weekend’s Sachsenring round.