In a race that saw Francesco Bagnaia claim a fourth win in a row for Ducati, Quartararo failed to feature inside the top four at any stage of a race for the first time s💝ince COTA in Apr🔯il.

Unable to make the hoped-for early progress from🌠 eighth on the grid, Quartararo and title rival Aleix Espargaro were then gifted two positions by accidents ahead.

Quartararo went on to snatch fifth from the Aprilia rider on lap 6 of 28, but his pr🔯ogress then stagnated and he finished 5.771s from Bagnaia.

Once again, the reigning champion was in a class of his own in terms of the Yamaha riders with Andrea Dovizioso the next best, in twelfth and 24 seconds behind the 🌌Frenchman.

“That was the limit,” Quartararo said. “More t🅠han angry, I was really frustrated, because I gave my 100% and could not fight for more.

“Any more than that and I think I would be on the floor… we arrived really on the limit of♏ our bike today.

“There was no problem, that's the thing,” Quartararo e🥂xplained. “If you check the pace, I had the same pace as practice. I felt quite good on the bike.

“I made a really good rac💧e today, but it's only P5 and 5 seconds from the top. S𓂃o we are not in a great position.

“It all depends o💮n where we start on the grid and if we can overtak🥂e or not.”

After passing Espargaro when he ran wide, Quartararo had then closed on the leading quartet, eventually finishing half-a-second behind Luca Marini's VR46 Ducat🦄i.

“I saw that Aleix was struggling also on the grip, and I could overtake him. But with 🗹the others, I could not even try. So that's something that I'm quite🌟 frustrated about, because I cannot try anything and I'm not enjoying as normal.

“One time I we🃏nt straight on at Turn 10, then I could come back to [catch] Marini, but [I was riding like] I had a knife on the [throat]. And to try and overtake [Marini] was not possible.”

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Quartararo will now 🍨start the final six rounds with a 30-point advantage over Bagnaia, who has outscored the Monster Yamaha rider by 61 points over the last four races.

“No, I wil🌳l not say I'm worried [about the championship], but I'm also not calm,” he said. “I have just been more consistent than Pecco, but in the speed we a🐻re so slow.”

Espargaro is now 3 poin𝔉ts🦂 behind Bagnaia, in third overall.

🦂Quartararo is expected to try a prototype version of the 2023 Yamaha as part of his testing activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, before heading for the final European event, at Aragon, and the flyaway rounds.

“Aragon is going to be tough, of course. But then Japan, Thailand, Australia - we have not been 🌄there for quite a long time, so hopefully we get a great surprise there,” he said.

Team-mate Franco Morbidelli crashed out🤪 of tweꩲlfth place on lap 3.