After closing to within 16 points of Bagnaia with a do🦩uble victory at Sachs🐻enring, Martin remains in second but has now dropped 62 points adrift of the reigning champion.

The Pramac Ducati rider returned to the top three for the first timওe since Germany on Saturday in Austria, but a long lap penalty for the main race dropped him back into the pack and 𝄹he could only salvage seventh.

“I felt it was the best position I could achieve today starting from twelfth,” Martin said. “I did an amazing start and w💯as with the podium group, but then went back to 14th. So I lost time overtaki🍎ng a lot of riders and had to use too much rear tyre.

“It’s a piꦿty because I had the pace to fight for - not first position - but for sure second was a real possibility. So now its three weekends where we lost our chance for the [GP] podium.”

While the MotoGP season is only at its midway stage, Mart⛦in believes 🧸another bad result next time in Barcelona will mean “we will have to fight for second”.

“I felt I was the only one who could put some pressure on [Bagnaia] today. Maybe not for the win, because he was really fast at the end, but I feeꦯl I was the only one who could🌱 be closer.

“I was losing a li𝓡ttle bit [to Bagnaia] on corner🔯 9 but the rest I was really close or faster than him.

“So I hope we can put toge꧟ther a good qualifying in Montmelo because 🌱it will be key to battle for this championship, if not then we will have to fight for second.”

Martin: Sprint pile-up ‘not my fault’

Martin said he still didn’t accept the long lap penalty decision made by the FIM Ste🃏wards following the first turn pile-up in the Sprint race.

“No, no. I watched it a lot of times and I spoke with a lot of riders, like Randy Mamola, a lot of journalists… If you watch again and again you understand it was not my fault. It was just a combined situation💙,” said Martin.

“We have something [on Sunday] that was an even more ag𒁏gressive from another rider and nothing happened.

“I think they had to take somebody [for] a penalty, to punish for the action and they chose the easy optionꦐ maybe.”

The Spaniard also regretted that the penalty decision came after the Sprint race had finished and therefore compromised his chance🍎s in the full points Grand Prix.

“It’s a pity that if the Stewards are unable to do a penalty during a Sprint race then you have to get it during the main race, which is more important and if you are fighting for a championship it destroys your possib🤪ilities.”

Martin remains just six points clear of 🥂VR46 Ducati rider Marco Be🎶zzecchi, who was taken down in the Sprint pile-up, then finished third on Sunday.