Valentino Rossi now fears that it will be his Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo who could end his dream of a historic eighth MotoGP World Championship, rather than two-time reigning champ Marc Marquez.
The reality check came with Lorenzo's sizzling flag-to-flag victory in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Rossi has admitted in advance of Sunday's French GP at Le Mans what he saw in Jerez was a warning signal that Lorenzo is in the form that won him the 2010 and 2012 championships.
Lorenzo's win in Spain sliced nine points out of Rossi's advantage in just one race and if Lorenzo repeats that effort at Le Mans, Rossi knows his worst fears will be realized. The last two times Lorenzo has won at Le Mans -- 2010 and 2012 -- he went on to win the title.
"Jorge started the season with some difficult races but his performance in Jerez was fantastic. He was the fastest rider from Friday to Sunday in the race," Rossi said. "This means that for the championship, it will be very hard to arrive in front of him. And at Le Mans Jorge is always very fast and historically it is a good track for Yamaha."
Lorenzo is the rider who arrived in MotoGP in 2008 as supremely fast but crash-prone rookie who went on to dismantle Rossi's superiority at Yamaha.
Rossi's last world title was in 2009, but it was Lorenzo's status as Yamaha's new boy with the 2010 title that spurred Rossi to embark on his nightmare stint with Ducati for two years.
Now back together at Yamaha, Rossi is right to fear Lorenzo who reset his season at Jerez after troublesome races in Qatar, Texas and Argentina.
While Rossi has raced to four podiums with two victories in the opening four races, the question know is whether the 36-year old superstar can maintain the momentum.
Both Lorenzo and Honda ace Marquez closed the gap by finishing ahead of Rossi in Jerez -- Lorenzo gaining nine points and Marquez four. Rossi admits those gains by his two main rivals were crucial.
"Yes, I went home from Jerez with 15 points more than (Andrea) Dovizioso and this was important but I think now that it will be more hard against Jorge and Marc for the championship," Rossi said. "It has been a great start to the season for me and I have been on the podium in four races but it will be very important for the championship to arrive on the podium every weekend.
"This year there are a lot of riders who can fight for the championship."
But with Lorenzo back in the mindset that has won him 34 career MotoGP races and two world titles, his preseason declaration may yet be the crucial factor in the chase for the championship.
"When we are both at our best level, probably Marc and I have some small tenths over Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, and maybe three or four tenths over the others," Lorenzo said.
