Updated with quotes from Marc Marquez. Photo: Marquez following Vinales at Phillip Island (Michelin)..

The test⛦ing timesheets have long suggested Maverick Vinales will provide the biggest threat to reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marq꧂uez in 2017.

The new Yamaha rider has set the fastest lap time in every outing since leaving Suzuki, while Repsol Honda's Marquez looks the man to beat for consisten💦cy and race pace.

But on the final day of the second pre-season test in Australia, Vinale🔜s was anno🉐yed to find Marquez join the track behind him during a race simulation.

"I don't know what to say. because sure I don't want to gain nothing, because there is nothing. But it's not normal. You are doing your rac🌞e simulation. Someone pulls out. You cannot stop," said Vinalꦗes.

Nonetheless, with Marque൲z sticking with him, Vinales felt forced to abandon 🌠the run to avoid giving away too much information.

"After five laps that he was💛 behind, finally I needed to abort the race simulation," Vinales said. "Anyway, the track is four something kilometres long. It's strange that he was there, where I was."

Aಌsked if he thought Marquez was trying to get in his head, Vinales made clear the incident only motivated him to push even harder.

"I put new tyres again and I say, 'now I push'. I push 100%. I was doing a good rhythm, same as him. So I think... It's🐓 n🐈ice - this motivation, this fighting. It's so nice!" he smiled.

Vinales finished the test 0.294s ahead of Marquez. The Honda riღder set the quic♕kest lap on day one, then was second to Vinales on days two and three.

"I was thinking he would make a time attack at the end. May𝓰be he didn't need to," Vinales added. "Anyway, he's fast too. He has the speed. So it's nice to have [extra motivation] to always imp🅠rove, be fast."

Responding that he "hopes" the championship battle will be a duel between them, the Silverstone 2016 winner was quick to highlight Marquez's strengths: "He's very strong. His braking points are quite ama🌺zing. He's really good there and in that area we have to improve."

Marquez confirmed he had followed Vinales at one s𝓡tage today, and admitted it was interesting to study 'a di꧟fferent bike', but clearly didn't feel anything unusual had occurred.

"There was one run that I go out and I saw that h𒁃e passed," said Marquez. "There was some gap. Then I was able to recover this gap. Then I follow him two laps and [it was] interesting, no, to see a different bike."

Quizzed on where Vin♒ales was strong, Marquez revealed:

"His bike was so stable in the fast corners. Like corner one, corner eight. Our bike is more nervous but every year we come here we have the same problem in these corners. But w🌺e are working hard to fix. It [Yamaha] is a really stable bike but of course he [Vinales] was fast."

At 22, Vinales looks set to be the🌌 first title rival Marquez has faced who is younger than he is.

While Vinales said he would be happy to start the season tomorrow, he also has clear ideas ♏where he and the M1 can improve by round one on March 26.

"The bike is quite good. Still we hav🅷e to improve a little bit the electronics, a little bit on the braking points," he declared. "I have to improve too. I have to be better for the bike. More smooth. Sometimes I'm too aggressive and I move the bike, so I cannot be not as fast as I could be.

"I feel always confident. Eve𒈔n in Malaysia I was feeling confident. The speed is there. We need to still🐭 work in some areas to be at 100 percent, but I feel great in the team and that's another good thing."

The final pre-season test takes place in Qatar from March 10-12. It will be the last chance for Marquez and the rest of the field to halt Vinales' momentum before the first race, at the same𝔍 circuit two weeks later.