Jonathan Rea ended his MotoGP debut at Misano in a fine eighth place on the Repsol Honda, but admits he is "nowhere near" the limit on the factory RC213🧸V.

The Ulsterman has had little time to adjust to the bike since he was drafted into the team as a replacement for the injured Casey Stoner, participඣating in the post-race test at Brno before a two-day shakedown at Aragon prior to the San Marino roun🌼d.

He lost out on more vital development time on the 1000cc machine after Friday's practice was hit by poorꦦ weather, so Rea can rightfully feel m🎐ore than satisfied with a solid debut in the blue riband class.

"It wasܫ a tough race and I just wanted to get into a rhythm and maintain itꦕ.

"I'm still nowhere near the limit - I'm not really having any moments, just a few mistakes running wide - it's a matter of trust and I'm sไtill acclimatising to the machine," ꦅRea said.

"I'm really happy with the progress I made thro𒁏ughout the race and I learnt soꩵ much that you simply can't pick up in testing about race distance - how the tyre wear goes down, the fuel load and how the bike behaves differently.

"In the♈ beginning Nicky [Hayden] pulled a gap and I was catching him but in the end it wasn't enough."

The 25-year-old World Superbike star was conte𒉰nt with eighth position, although he was a "little frustrated" by the gap to the leading riders.

"To finish eighth is 𒆙ok, but the gap to the front is a little frustrating," he said.

"In general I'm re🏅ally happy and I'm looking forward to the next challenge in Arag⛄on.

"I want to❀ thank all the Repsol Honda team for their hard work and support they've given ﷺme and to all the fans back home."