While his stunning qualifying lap may have suggested a repeat of the Phillip Island podium was 🌳on the cards, Sep🐻ang proved something of a worse-case scenario - combining the current technical weaknesses of the RCV and his own reduced physical condition.

Marquez held fourth place in the early laps, before dropping to seventh&nb🔯sp;at m💙id-distance.

The eight-time world champion then fought back against future team-mate Joan Mir and the other Suzuki of Alex Rins, but returned to seventh when he was overtaken by Ducati’s Jacꦰk Mil🦋ler on the final lap.

“It was a long hard race, but it’s what I expected because yesterday's performance was not normal,” Marquez sa♍id of his qualifying heroics.

• 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史💟:Malaysian MotoꦰGP, Sepang Circuit - Race Results
• 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Malaysian Moto2 Grand Prix💮, Sepang - Race Results
• 168澳洲幸运5▨官方开奖结果历史:Malaysian Moto3 Grand Prix, Sepang - Race Results

“In one lap, you can do it. ✨But in the race, I started strong and then immediately saw I was losing [time] on the main straights and risking too much.

“I felt [we had] a slow bike all weekend, so you have to push more in the corners. For a sing♉le lap you can do it, but for ꦗa race distance the tyre degradation becomes bigger than normal.

“I tried to find my rhythm. Mir an🧸d Rins were a bit faster than me, but it's what we expected.

“Today I took the maxi꧂mum. It’s a circuit with the weak points of my riding style, but also the weak points of the bike. So today is one of the worst-case scena𒊎rios.

“In the end, I had♓ zero grip because we were pushing too much on the corners and used too much tyres. And as ꦦa consequence, I was fighting against the bike and then more and more [against my] physical condition.

“I felt [physically] worse than the other races just because I was fighting a🤪gains⛦t the bike and using more energy.

“But even like this we finished 7th. Yesterday I said our result or rhythm was between 8-10th. In fact we finished s💙eventh because Martin crasꦉhed [from the lead].”

Marquez added: “We are too far from the first guy, but the most important for me is that in the winter I was the s🐓lowe😼st Honda here on race pace and today I was the fastest.

“It’s not my target [just] to be the first H♔onda, because my target is always pointing in the front. But always it’s a re🍰ference that we are working in a good way.”

Marquez crossed the lin🔯e 14s behind race winner Francesco Bagnaia, whose Ducati he came within a fraction of passing for second just a week before in Phillip Island.

“Here in Malaysia, if you don't have engine and if you don't have rear grip, y🐻ou can be Superman but you cannot do anything,” Marquez said.

“The rear grip was there for 🧜one lap, but 🍌then for the race distance I was struggling too much.

“All weekend I didn’t feel the rear contact and this, plus on the straights we were losing too muc꧒h, meant it was impossible to follow the Ducatis.”

Honda ‘in delay’ with 2023 bike

Given Honda’s current slump - sixth and last in the constructors’ standings and the only manufacturer without a race win this꧋ season👍 - Marquez has had one eye on 2023 bike development since last month's return from arm surgery.

But he’s still not sure if a ‘2023’ bike will be read൩y for the upcoming Valencia post-race test, on November 8.

“They still haven’t given me the s🎀chedule. I don't know if a new bike will arrive or not [at Valencia],” he said.

“We are already in delay beca▨use Misano [September] is when normally all the manufacturers try the [new] 2023 bike. We are delayed and Honda know that we're in delay, so we will have only one chance [to get it right].

“I hope to try something interesting in Valencia… also because what you try [at the following test] in Malaysia in February is the bike you ꩵwill race. You don't have timeꦯ to change it.”

Team-mate Pol Espargaro was the next best Honda rider on 🎃Sunday, in 14th.