Up until the early laps of the Indianapolis race, Leon Camier's MotoGP debut could barely have gone better.

Replacing Nicky Hayden at Drive M7 Aspar, Camier arrived at Indy facing a new circuit, team, bike and tyres.

But after finding his feet in the opening 45-minute practice session, the former BSB champion began outpacing many of the Open class regulars.

17th out of the 23 riders by the end of free practice (+2.183s), Camier qualified the Honda RCV1000R in 16th. He then gained a place in the early stages of the race, putting him into the points.

Sadly the WSBK podium finisher was already struggling with an electronic problem that caused him to pit on lap 10, then retire on lap 20 of 27.

"We were unable to finish the race due to an electronic problem," confirmed Camier, without a full time 2014 ride after losing his planned Iodaracing MotoGP seat at the last minute.

"Right at the start of the race I noticed that something was wrong, but I continued pushing hard; I just wanted to ride, have fun and try to finish as best I could. As the laps went by the problem increased and I was forced to return to the garage. It was a shame to conclude the weekend like this, because we had done a great job.

"In any case I am satisfied, because this experience has been terrific and I have learned many new things. Above all I learned during the race, and found what we need to do to improve."

Despite the technical problems, Camier's set the 16th fastest race lap, 2.4s from winner Marc Marquez.

"I like the chassis and this bike suits my riding style, so I am sure I can go faster with it; hopefully at Brno we have the chance.

"I want to thank the team for giving me so much to learn from this weekend. I am pleased that we have continued to progress throughout the weekend and, despite the setbacks, our race pace was quite positive."

Camier is already familiar with the Brno layout from WSBK. The Czech event is the 28-year-old's last scheduled appearance before Hayden returns at Silverstone, although that will depend on the American's wrist recovery.