After closing to within 16 pཧoints of Bagnaia with a double victory at Sachsenring, Martin re🌟mains 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 time 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 was with the podium group, but then♏ went back to 14th. So I lost time overtaking a lot of riders and had to use too much rear tyre꧒.

“It’s a pity 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 stag🗹e, Martin believes another bad result next time in Barcelona will mean “we will have to fight for s🅷econd”.

“I felt I was the only one who could put some pressure on [Bagnaia] today. Maybe not for the win,꧑ because he was really fast at the end, but I feel I was the only one who could be closer.

“I was losing a little bit [to Bagꦏnaia] on corner 9 but the rest I ꦍwas really close or faster than him.

“So I hope we can put together a good qualiജfying in Montmelo b💫ecause 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 maꦕde by the FIM Stewards 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 ꧒again and again you understand it was not my fault. It was just a combined situati🐭on,” said Martin.

“We 🔯have something [on Sunday] that was an even more aggressive from a🌌nother rider and nothing happened.

“I think they had to 🤡take somebody [for] a penalty, to punish for the action and they chose the easy option ma🎉ybe.”

The Spaniard als෴o regretted that the penalty decision came after the Sprint race had finished and therefore compromised his chances 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 impor🐈tant and if you are fighting for a championship it destroys your possibilities.”

Martin remains just six points clꩲear of VR46 Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi, who was taken down in the Sprint pile-up, then finished third on Sunday.