Leon Camier’s almost meteoric rise through the MotoGP pack at Indianapolis was halted right at the start of yesterday’s race as a faulty rear-wheel speed sensor was cutting power on the Kent man’s production Drive M7 Honda, forcing him to pit twice before retiring.

The former British Superbike Champion had qualified in 16th place in his first ever race and had moved into the points before the problem became so bad he was forced to go back to the garage.

On his return to the track, Camier was able to lap faster than team-mate Hiro Aoyama even with the issue and was second only to Scott Redding in terms of Open class speed before a another trip to the pits saw him withdraw from the race.

“It’s a bit of a shame but it’s motorbike racing at it happens. I got an OK start, I got a little bit beaten up and caught up with someone but the way to overtake on these bike is a little different too, it’s last minute and causes a bit of carnage,” said Camier, speaking at the track.

“I got into a rhythm but wasn’t as comfortable as I would like to be for sure but the pace started to get a little better even when the problem, which was intermittent, was still there and my lap times were the same if not a little bit better.

“I did learn a lot in the race even though I didn’t get so many laps. There is definite room for improvement from the chassis and what I want from the bike. The biggest thing is getting the most from the bike and understanding what you need to go to get it to turn when you want. It’s all quite frantic at the beginning but we just need more time.”