Jorge Lorenzo has insisted he still has a fighting chance to retain his world title as pressure builds on gaffe-hit championship leader Marc Marquez ahead of the Japanese MotoGP.
Lorenzo slashed Marquez's advantage to 18 points with two races left when he won last week in Australia, after an astonishing Honda team error saw the 20-year-old rookie disqualified.
And Yamaha's Lorenzo told AFP that tension would now be growing for his fellow Spaniard, who is bidding to become the sport's youngest ever champion.
"Normally when the championship is close to the end you feel more pressure," the two-time world champion said in an interview.
"It doesn't matter how many points advantage you have. You start thinking that something can go wrong, so for sure he could be starting to have some pressure."
Marquez has won a rookie-record six races in the premier class after his title in Moto2 last year, and was on course to be crowned the first rookie champion since 1978 last week at Phillip Island.
However, Marquez was black-flagged for not pitting during a mandatory window to change tyres, as ordered pre-race due to safety fears, and coming in one lap too late.
The blunder was attributed to his Honda team but Lorenzo, still alive in the championship with races left in Motegi and Valencia, promised to push whizz-kid Marquez all the way.
"We have to be competitive enough to fight for the first positions," said Lorenzo, who also won the MotoGP championship in 2010.
"Twenty-five laps in Motegi, 27-28 in Valencia -- a lot of laps to do, so anything can happen. We have to believe, we have to focus on our performance. I have hope."
Despite his reduced lead, Marquez can still seal the title with a race to spare on Sunday if he wins and Lorenzo finishes outside the top two.
He is bidding to break the long-standing age record held by America's Freddie Spencer, who was 21 when he won the former 500cc world title in 1983.
The young rider with a '93', the year of his birth, on his helmet has had a storming season with his six wins coming among 14 podium finishes in 16 races so far.
And Lorenzo, who also has six wins this season, refused to speculate on whether the error in Australia would knock Marquez's title bid off-track.
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