Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are quickly turning the fight for the MotoGP world championship into a two-man Yamaha war.
The problem, Rossi says, is Lorenzo's "incredible pace," which spells bad news for the seven-time MotoGP world champion.
Can Rossi hold off the imperious assault from Lorenzo, who has won the past three races in a row - Mugello, Le Mans and Jerez?
More than anyone, Rossi wishes it wasn't like this and - given a free choice - he might rather be under attack from Honda star Marc Marquez.
When asked who he fears most for the title Rossi said: "I want to say Marc but Jorge can be very strong. In this moment I think Jorge is the rider more in shape, more dangerous, more difficult to beat.”
In a dramatic form slump, Marquez and Honda have won just one of six races with 12 remaining. Marquez (69 points) has fallen a massive 49 points behind Rossi who still leads the points with 118, just six over Lorenzo (112 points).
But crucially, Lorenzo has hammered Rossi to claw back 23 points from his M1 teammate since Rossi's last win in Argentina.
“In the first half of the season I was stronger, but now Jorge has come back with an incredible pace and he is the only one that can arrive at the maximum and take all the potential from the bike," Rossi said.
“He recovered a lot of points on me with these three victories and now we are quite close.
"It is bad news, the shape of Jorge, because he is very fast, so to try to fight with him I have to be faster and more competitive.”
While Rossi and Lorenzo are all smiles in public, with declarations of mutual respect, they both know what is at stake: Supremacy at Yamaha.
Rossi was the undisputed king of Yamaha until Lorenzo arrived as a brash young rookie in 2008 and started to dismantle Rossi's dominance, culminating in taking the 2010 world title.
“We have a good relationship, good respect - outside and on track. But like everybody knows your teammate is your first rival," Rossi said.
"Because we have the same bike he is the first enemy. The first guy to try to beat."
The relationship between Rossi and Lorenzo was once so toxic that Rossi demanded a wall separate the two sides of the Yamaha garage.
But then Rossi's currency with Yamaha fell when he departed for an ill-considered two-year stint at Ducati while Lorenzo stayed loyal and won a second title in 2012.
Rossi now must accept the reality that his pace is no longer superior to Lorenzo at Yamaha. And Lorenzo knows it.
“Our relationship is probably better now because I think the positions on the team are more accepted at this point and I think we are making a great job," Lorenzo said.
"The relationship is good and we have respect, we help the factory to bring a better bike every time and we are winning at this moment. So it is a good period for us and we have to take profit of it.”
Lorenzo has been supreme in leading every lap - 78 in all - for his three unchallenged wins in the Italian, French and Spanish GPs.
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