Due to line-up sixth on the grid, the Aprilia rider instead dived into pit lane at th🌄e end of the warm-up lap, ditching his RS-GP and 🌼frantically grabbing the spare bike.

Espargaro later revealed that his number one machine had been stuck in a special fuel-saving ‘eco’ map, designed only to be used from the 😼pits to the grid.

“They made a mistake, and they didn't remove the fuel-saving map which doesn't allow you to go over 4-5,000 RPM or more than ♈100k per hour," Espargaro explained.

“I tried everything, but it was not working.”

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After the unplanned bike swap, Espargaro♏ joined the race 25th and last but al🎀ready knew his chances were over.

“I chang💮ed bikes in the pits, but the second bike had the soft rear tyre [instea꧅d of the medium] and I can't ride with that tyre,” he said.

“I knew it from the beginning. The bike was just pushing the front. I was also very nervous and making a lot of mistakes, so I decided to stay out on track just to wait for a red ꦍflag or whatever. But it didn’t arrive.”

Espargaro eventually crossed the line in 16th pla💎ce, five-seconds from Cal Crutchlow and the final wor✨ld championship point.

It was a far cry from what he felt was possible:

“[To] win, 100%. Even with a soft tyre and the second bike I was in ’46.0 for🌼 many laps.

“So with the medium tyre and my number one bike I'm sure I could stay in 45-half, at least at the level of Jack [Miller, race winner]. So it's a shဣame.”

Quartararo eighth, Bagnaia crash ‘makes it worse’

Espargaro also took no consolation from the fact that world championship leader Fabio Quartararo could only manage eighth plac🌄e on Sunday, while Fra🅰ncesco Bagnaia crashed out trying to pass the Frenchman on the last lap.

“For me, this is worse, because I lost a big opportunity. If they finished first and second, it would be worse for the championship, but I will not be🌜 that🐭 sad,” Espargaro said.

“I'm very sad because I knew today I was faster than them and it's veryܫ difficult to be faster than Pecco and Fabio. It’s very rare, for me.”

Espargaro has now dropped from 17 to 25 points behind Quartararoജ and remains 7 from Bagnaia.

Espargaro: ‘A huge mistake, but we are humans’

Espargaro knows as well as anyone that human errors can happen, having backed off with one lap still to go💫 in Barcelona earlier t𝓀his season.

“This is our job and it'💧s a mistake that can happen everywhe✃re,” he said of the Eco map issue. “It's a big mistake, a huge mistake. But we are humans, we are a team.

“Now I will go to the box, I have no strength, I don’t know how to do it, but I need to support [the team] because it's a mistake and it can ♍happen.

“I don't ca🌊re about the championship, I want to win in Thailandౠ. It’s the only thing on my mind, try to win in Thailand."

Free 𝄹Practice for the Thai Grand Prix, the first of four remaining rounds, starts on 🐼Friday.

Espargaro's team-matౠe Maverick Vinales finished seventh at Motegi.