New MotoGP top speed record, then gearbox glitch for Jorge Martin

But his Desmosedici’s performance wasn’t being held back in the early stages, the young Spaniard setting a new all-time MotoGP top speed record of 363.6km/h (225.9mph) as he battled in the slipstream of multiple riders on lap 2.

Starting 14th on the grid after a cautious approach to the damp qualifying, Martin immediately found himself in the thick of the action.

“I was overtaking riders, they were overtaking back, it was really difficult to get a good position at the beginning of the race,” he said.

“Then on the sixth lap I started having some issues with the gearbox. Gears weren’t coming in: 2nd to 3rd gear. I couldn’t put the gears and I was losing a lot of time.

“In the first and last corners I was really struggling so I was locked in really high gears. I was with the front group but was getting overtaken by other riders because of this issue.

“I was making the last corner in fourth gear, so I was exiting like a Moto2. A lot of riders were overtaking me. I was going wide. It was also difficult to stop the bike.

“It’s not just the time you lose. You get overtaken by riders who are slower and it’s difficult to overtake. So I think I lost 6 or 7 seconds because of this issue.”

Constantly fighting to engage a gear also took a physical toll on his left leg.

“To get one gear I have to make the movement maybe 3 or 4 times. Imagine after 23 laps! In the last laps, I was struggling a lot. It is what it is. I wanted to finish. At least we took some points. We deserved much better.

“I think the pace was good enough for battle for the top six, top seven. But we had this issue. Anyway, the feeling is coming back with the bike. I’m feeling better. But I had a big issue with the gearbox and I couldn’t do anything else.

“Our potential is really high but all the shit is coming together.”

Despite being the top qualifier of the season so far (followed by Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro) Martin’s barren run of race results has left him just 15th in the world championship.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Catalunya round, he said: “In Barcelona the mentality will be a bit different. Just work on my feeling. A bit more like a test because I’m not riding comfortable like at the beginning of the year. So just try to go back to that.”

The 2021 Red Bull Ring winner’s current Sunday form also isn’t helping his chances of securing the remaining factory Ducati team seat for next season.

Martin insists it’s not something he’s thinking about: “The only target is to gain the confidence again. For sure I want to be in Ducati. For the moment, I’m not thinking about [2023].”

The previous MotoGP top speed record was 362.4km/h (225.2mph), first set by Johann Zarco at Qatar 2021 and then equalled by KTM's Brad Binder at Mugello last season.

Jack Miller: 'A fair bit of a flat spot'

Martin wasn’t the only Ducati rider to suffer gearbox related issues last Sunday, with current factory team rider Jack Miller struggling with a ‘flat spot’ in his gear ratios.

It meant that the Australian, who dropped from twelfth to 22nd after an off-track moment into Turn 1, was struggling to overtake on the straight.

“I was losing quite a lot coming off the last corner, was able to catch back a fair bit towards turn 1 but was never close really for a decent attack,” said Miller.

“I sent it in a couple of times from a long way back. But was losing the front, run just a little bit wide and Marquez was able to park it up the inside of me both times.

“It's very difficult to do anything when you can't pass. I tried there [Turn 1]. I tried a couple other places. But just could never get close enough to actually do something.

“[It was the] Gearbox or something, the bike seemed to be in a fair bit of a flat spot coming off the last corner in third gear. [Alex] Marquez was able to eke out sort of like five bike-lengths and then I'd have to try and catch that back for the rest of the straight.

“I’m a bit pissed off with my day but it is what it is. You can’t change it. All we can do is just try to improve next week."

While team-mate Bagnaia won the race Miller, being linked with a move to KTM for 2023, finished in 15th place, just a few tenths behind Alex Marquez and Martin.

"That's how it is. Enea won last weekend and was in the gravel this week. MotoGP in 2022 is like that. Again, we weren't too far off. But we are 15th," said the Australian. "For sure our Saturday definitely didn't help. With all the issues we had, it put us on the backfoot for the race."