There was a hint of it two weeks ago at Sepang: a handful of laps on track together, eyeing the other’s lines, assessing the ease at which they were running and occasionally swapping places. The ‘brushing it off’ as little more than a bit of fun came soon after.

But under the Australian sun, after three days of tiring, incessant testing, when both men clocked 516 laps between them, there came confirmation that Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales, the world’s two fastest riders at present, are prepared to trade blows before the first flag of the year has dropped.

Sitting first and second on Friday afternoon, it was safe to assume the testing results were sufficient confirmation that 2017 could be a straight Marquez-Viñales slug. The headline times had been set. Advantage Viñales in that respect, as the Movistar Yamaha man sat 0.294s up on his countryman. Now to use the remaining hours to work on that race pace: Viñales’ only facet still to be questioned. What followed was the first inkling in public that both men’s competitive instincts could boil over this year.

Viñales had his attention fixed on a race simulation – his first aboard a Yamaha – to gauge how much Marquez had in hand over a succession of laps. But as Viñales picked up a rhythm, the Honda man came out of pit lane, found the M1 just ahead and held a watchful eye. Viñales made his thoughts on the matter clear that evening. “It’s not normal,” he said. “You are doing your race simulation. Someone pulls out. You cannot stop.” The result was Viñales aborting his run. “The track is four kilometres long. It’s strange that he was there, where I was.”

Viñales wore a smile…but he knew what Marquez was doing. For five full laps he felt the glare of his enemy’s stare. Now he was letting him know the act had only served to motivate him further. “It’s nice – this motivation, this fighting. It’s so nice!”

Keeping their age, their nationality – both hail from the same 380-mile stretch of land on the Catalan coast – and their driven nature in mind, it should come as no surprise that Maverick Viñales and Marc Marquez engaged in a spot of feuding. It’s more the time at which it has come is. And it’s the timing that suggests both men view each another as the greatest threat to that holiest of grails: the rider’s title.

For his part, Marquez played the ‘Who, me?’ card well. “There was some gap. Then I was able to recover this gap. Then I follow him two laps. [It was] Interesting to see a different bike,” he smiled. And what did you learn from Maverick, Marc? “The Yamaha is stable. Of course, he’s fast.” Hardly a ringing endorsement, but again, this was designed to gnaw away at his rival.

A part of Marquez’s character you don’t always see on camera: here he was applying pressure to see a reaction. And to let his new foe know all-too-well that he was ably following. After all, he had thrown a few light jabs back in November, joking that most MotoGP riders were taking it easy, holidaying in the Maldives – as was Viñales – while the ever-enterprising Marquez nobly took on a host of dirt-trackers at the Superprestigio. No doubt, their exchange at the Sepang test was another probe. It’s just that, at that point, Viñales had nothing to lose, and wasn’t in the midst of a race run.

A rider that will remain unnamed once spoke of a time he found himself on track with Marquez and Valentino Rossi at the close of the Sepang test last year. With the red flag signifying the end of the day’s action, the Spaniard rode in the wheel tracks of his more experienced foe until it was time for a practice start. When Rossi stopped, Marquez pulled alongside and looked across, waiting until the Italian took off. The intention? To nag his rival, to watch the anger fester within, an anger that would ultimately lead to an early-season mistake. Perhaps we’re seeing a similar ploy here.

Although there is one difference. Until now, Marquez has been the young assassin, grinning at his elders, and taking the pledge of innocence when courting controversy. Now he faces a rival with fewer years than him. One who’s behaviour he can’t predict. And one who isn’t going away any time soon. Once Viñales had got the hang of a 260bhp MotoGP bike early into 2016, Marquez was paying close attention. In years past they both fought it out in the Catalan junior championships, with Marquez only winning on occasion. His comments after Viñales’ debut win at Silverstone showed he had been listening to his every pre-race word.

This too is a new experience for Maverick. Aside from a high profile team fallout in 2012, he has rarely been outspoken in his actions or words. And he certainly hasn’t had a rider of Marquez’s stature exerting pressure onto his shoulders. But make no mistake he’s been waiting for this moment and is surely prepared for what’s ahead. “I don’t want to get caught out again,” he said in January, referencing his analysis of Marquez’s ominous consistency at a Valencia test in November. You can be sure he’ll be studying his rival as intently as Marquez is watching him.

Last year one member of the Suzuki team privately confided that Maverick’s routine when returning from pit lane included a frustrated shaking of the head when he didn’t see his own name topping the timing screens. A seasoned journalist said this was often caused when he saw Marquez’s name above his own. All of which suggests a mouth-watering year lies ahead.

The timing screens have shown the two men to be the pick of the field in the two tests in 2017. Viñales has been the quicker, Marquez the more consistent. But Maverick’s late run was applauded by Yamaha boss Massimo Meregalli. “He did 20 laps and basically the drop was almost nothing,” he confirmed. So far, there’s very little between them. For us onlookers, that first bow under the floodlights in Qatar cannot come soon enough.

Photos by CormacGP