Marquez, Vinales set for Texas showdown?

Sunday's Austin MotoGP looks set to be the first head-to-head showdown between reigning champion Marc Marquez and man-of-the-moment Maverick Vinales.

It's the contest everyone has been waiting for since Vinales moved to Yamaha, dominated winter testing and went on to win the opening races. Even the riders themselves appear curious to square-up on track; their paths having rarely crossed since minibike racing in Spain.

But the pair will start first and second on the grid after Marquez outpaced Vinales by just 0.130s, raising his perfect Austin pole record to five in a row.

It was a welcome boost for Honda's triple champion, who arrives at his most successful MotoGP circuit under pressure to halt the Vinales domination. Marquez trails his younger countryman by a massive 37 points, after a fourth place and a fall, his worst start to a premier-class season.

Both have looked equally matched in Austin and if Marquez was to pick a circuit to try and beat Vinales, this would surely be it: Marquez has won every race from pole since COTA joined the calendar in 2013.

"Our pace is really, really similar, me and Maverick," Marquez confirmed. "This circuit has been really good to me in previous years but I know tomorrow Maverick has the chance to win and can push from the beginning. We will try to be there with him until the end."

"I hope!" grinned Vinales, when asked if he expects the long-awaited Marquez battle. "I hope I can battle and stay there until the end. We've been working hard all weekend for the last laps."

Both agreed that it is far too early to back off and settle for points if there is a chance of victory on the last lap.

"If you arrive at the end of the race with some possibility to win, you will try. He will try. Everybody would try," Marquez declared. "We are only in the third race of the championship."

"It's just the third race of the season, so if you have the chance to win, you are going to take it," confirmed Vinales. "It's going to be nice if it's a last lap together."

Some feel Vinales has less pressure since, in terms of the current championship standings, he could afford a second place more than Marquez. "Sometimes that's not an advantage!" Vinales warned. "Sometimes it motivates you more when you have to beat someone."

Marquez confessed it's crucial not to repeat the error seen in Argentina, but is adamant you can't become champion without taking risks.

"Always it's crucial to finish the races and take points for the championship. But in the end, if you want to be champion, you must take the risk in a few moments of the race or a few corners.

"We will see. I cannot think about 'what if I lose...' because immediately you open [the throttle] 90% instead of 100%. And we must push because the Yamaha riders are really strong and we will try to beat them."

Marquez also knows his peerless past record won't count for much once the red lights go out.

"I know this circuit has been really good for me in the past, I won four years in a row but tomorrow is another race and I know Maverick can beat me and stop these consecutive victories.

"Or maybe another rider, because also Valentino is really fast all the Sundays. So we will see, but if I have a small chance of course I will try to win."

Rossi was best of the rest in qualifying, albeit a distant 0.932s from Marquez. But the Italian starts from his best grid position of the season, having already delivered strong race rides to the podium in both Qatar and Argentina.

While Vinales has adapted seamlessly from the Suzuki to the Yamaha, both Rossi and Marquez have been struggling to find a base-up for their respective machines this season, the Honda rider explaining:

"This year for some reason with this [big bang Honda] configuration of the engine it's changing quite a lot the balance of the bike and we need to find. But it looks like step-by-step we are coming to a better base.

"The problem is that from circuit-to-circuit we are changing too much and this creates a different feeling on the bike, different limits and different confidence. So it's really important for me to find a good base. From Argentina to here it looks like the base is coming closer."

Asked if he would prefer to battle Marquez or team-mate and nearest title rival Rossi for victory on the last lap of Sunday's race, Vinales replied:

"Marc, because in the championship Valentino is much closer. It's dangerous with Marc, but I would prefer."

Vinales currently has a 14-point lead over Rossi.

One thing is for sure, someone's win streak will be broken on Sunday - but will it be Marquez at COTA, Vinales at Yamaha... or both?