MotoGP rookie Fabio Quartararo proved his debut pole position was no fla💦sh in the pan by settling into a confident second🍃 place behind Marc Marquez at mid-distance of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

But the Frenchman's podium dreams disappeared wh𝓡en a problem with the g꧂ear shifter forced the Petronas Yamaha rider to sit up on the back straight, on lap 14 of 25.

Helpless as the lik𒀰es of team-mate Franco Morbidelli plus eventual rostrum finishers Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales blasted past, the devastated 20-year-old could only park his machine in the pits, where he was quickly consoled by the team.

"When I saw that I can't shift, I knew it was over," shrugged Quartararo m⭕atter-of-factly. "I was stuck in 3rd geౠar. So I came into pit lane. There was nothing else to do.

"♚The race had been really good. I felt so good on the bike. It was amazing to ride 𓄧with the top riders.

"Yes, there was a small technical issue on the gear shifter, something really small that cost us a lot, but like in Qatar [where he stalled on the sigꦯhting lap] we'll leave all the negatives here and take the positives home."

Passed by Marquez and Morbidelli into turn one, Quartararo had shadowed his team-mate until a pa🌠ss on lap 11ꦿ, then edged clear of the Italian to keep Marquez in sight.

"All the race I saw Marquez just in front. That gives me good confidence. I didn't expect that. Also the pole o💯f yesterday, I didn't expect.

"So I think we did an amazing job and it's not a coincidence that we were there in the race because weꦆ were near the top in all the free practices and I felt really good on the bike, and with all the c♏rew and the team.

"It was not really hard to keep the pace, okay not easy, but I was riding well and then unfortu🎃nately I had a problem. At the end it’s an experience. I need to learn the bad things and the good things, and today we missed I think a top five."

A top five seems a conservative estimate.

Quartararo had been around two-seconds 👍from race winner Marquez but the same distance ahe🍷ad of Morbidelli, Rins and Vinales, who didn’t seem to be gaining on him at that stage.

"I think we could fight for the podium," he admitted. "The pace I had in the race was incredible because I found something riding with these top guys that made me two tenths faster on the pace thꦿan in practice.

"In the first laps I learnt many things," he said. "I was acting on the bike like I have more expe💙rience than only my fourth race. Doing some mapping changes, seeing that the tyre pressure was high so I managed to get it cooler. So we too🌸k a lot of experience.

"I think I would have tried to stay in second position rather than push really hard to try and catch Marquez, who was already too far. But [the gap to Marquez] was perfect to get a reference, like to not get the front tyre pressure too high and make good lap times. Also from behind, I think I had 1.5 seconds advantage so it's good th𓆉at we can manage.

"Now I have all of that experience in my head."

Several hours earlier it had been a head fu🐽ll of emotions as Quartararo walked away from his stricken M1, the pain and disappointment of what might have been etched across his face as he was hug🐽ged by the team.

"Well of course I was really disappointed because we could challenge for a really good position," he said. "When you look at the pace I had, the weekend we did, I must be h♏appy…

"Unfortunately no podiums, no top five♊, no points [today], but the experience we take is a lot."

And that experience will soon be put to use in front of his home fa🧸ns 💃at Le Mans on May 17-19.

"For s💙ure it will 🃏be tough. A lot of fans, a lot of people. But I'm ready to go there because it's a track that it looks like the Yamaha will go well at and I can't wait also to test here tomorrow…"

Morbidelli slipped🐠 back to seventh place by the chequered flag.

Quartararo, best🅺 race result of ninth so far, continues to lead the Rookie of the Year standings despite his second non-sco🦹re in the four rounds.