Barros still feeling ready to win

Barros, a veteran of 141 Grand Prix starts, returns to the top category after spending a year in the World Superbike championship, where he finished in sixth position.

The six-time winner will race with the Pramac D'Antin team, who will get increased support from Ducati this season, leaving Barros upbeat about their chances.

"I feel pretty good because, after talking to the Ducati people, the Pramac D'Antin team has changed radically," Barros told AS newspaper.

"That is the reason why I came here, because I had the technical and human support from Ducati, plus also Bridgestone's.

"We have the same bike as the one used by the official team. This is a team that works, it's competitive."

The 36-year-old returns to a MotoGP field whose average age is now 28.5, but Barros shrugs off any age-related issues.

"I talk to those with whom I have raced the longest, like Capirossi or Roberts, more than with Stoner or Pedrosa," he said of. "Anyway, if they call me grandpa I'll laugh, because I don't feel like that and I think I can still win races.

"During my career I was always the youngest in every category I raced and now things are different. Aging happens to everybody."