Following Sunday's thrilling Catalunya Grand Prix, few observers now doubt that five-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi may have finally met his match or at least someone who will give him a real run for his money.
Ducati's Casey Stoner beat Rossi over the finish line by only 0.069th of a second and collected his fourth victory of the season against two for the Yamaha rider.
In compensation, Rossi's second place made him the all-time leader for podium finishes in motorcycling's flagship class, 96 compared to 95 for Australia's Mick Doohan.
With its tit-for-tat overtakings, Sunday's race was by far the best so far this season and perhaps even longer, observers agreed.
The general consensus was that Stoner more than equaled the veteran Rossi in terms of determination and taking the corners, two of the Italian's strongpoints.
"Today he road like a god and he's a fantastic rival, so hats off to him," the 28-year-old Rossi said about Stoner after the race.
"It was a great fight and honestly I couldn't have tried harder to win. It was a great experience anyway and it will help us understand what we need to improve," he added.
Stoner observed how "we all had our strong points and weak points around the circuit. I just tried to minimise my weak points and cover my lines and it worked out".
"Our bike was really well set up for the breaking points, so for Valentino to pass me he usually had to run wide and I was able to pass him back immediately a lot of times," the 21-year-old Australian added.
Although he did give Stoner his due credit, Rossi also recognised the superiority of the Ducati and said he would certainly have suffered even if his old rivals Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau had been riding the Italian bike.
"Casey rode really well and didn't make any mistakes, but all riders who win do that. He's strong, young and a great talent, but if I had met Gibernau or Biaggi on that Ducati I would have had a difficult time, too." Rossi said
Observers noted that although the two bikes appeared to be on the same level in regards to speed, the Ducati seemed to have an edge with its Bridgestone tires compared to the Yamaha and its Michelins.
This was confirmed by the riders themselves. While Stoner said his Bridgestone tires "were great again", Rossi observed how his Michelins "lost grip on left-hand corners".
This problem with the Michelin tires was confirmed by Honda rider Daniel Pedrosa who came in a close third using them. The Spanish rider said he tried but could not make it a three-way duel with Stoner and Rossi.
The Rossi-Stoner duel resumes in two weeks' time with the British Grand Prix June 24.
