Marquez: Rossi-like Acosta can't be ruled out of MotoGP title fight

Ahead of the fourth event of the season at Jerez this weekend, Acosta is fourth in the standings, just two points behind third-placed Maverick Vinales and five points behind second-placed Enea Bastianini.

The Spaniard is the best-placed of the four KTM riders, with factory man Brad Binder five points behind him in sixth and Jack Miller 32 points adrift in 10th. Acosta's team-mate Augusto Fernandez has only seven points to his tally compared to his score of 54.

With Acosta now more adapted to the new ecosystem and his GasGas Tech3 team, most of his rivals believe that the next natural objective, victory, will come sooner rather than later.

The 19-year-old from Murcia has been on the podium at the last two events in Portimao and Austin.

He failed to reach the podium in his first race in Qatar due to a combination of factors including the high degradation of the tyres as a result of his aggressiveness, and the pain in his forearm, a consequence of the bad positioning of the lever of the rear height device.

"Pedro reminds me of those big names who once made it to MotoGP: Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo or Casey Stoner," Marquez told Autosport.

"Those who, in the first or second races, were already fighting for pole, podiums and victories. This year he will get podiums, as he has already done, and also victories. And why not fight for a world championship, like others did?"

The widespread feeling in the paddock is that Acosta has shaken up the championship and especially the KTM group, although there are those, like Marquez, who believe that the youngster's talent has not caught anyone by surprise, because it was a foregone conclusion.

Marquez says he was not at all surprised by Acosta's breakthrough in MotoGP, and believes that KTM was well aware of the potential of the young rookie, who has scored two podiums in his first three races in the top class.

"I don't think Pedro shook up the KTM group," Marquez said. "They knew exactly what they had. I think they expected it; at least I expected it.

"When you analyse the things he did in Moto3 and Moto2, you knew he would get to MotoGP and go fast. It's his natural process," added Marquez, who is eighth in the standings, 16 points behind Acosta.