Alex Barros has finally been confirmed as a Honda rider, replacing Valentino Rossi in the Repsol Honda squad for the 2004 MotoGP World Championship. Although official details are yet to be released by Honda, it has emerged that the Brazilian rider has liberated himself from the remaining year of his contract with Yamaha and Altadis and is now free to return to the factory with whom he took his last win, riding the RC211V at Valencia in the final round of the 2002 season.
Barros, who endured a nightmare season riding the M1 in 2003, crashing fourteen times and making the podium just once, is still recovering from an operation to repair damage to a shoulder injury sustained at the Sachsenring back in July. However, he was due to complete a few demonstration laps riding a Honda street-bike in Sao Paolo on Friday and official details regarding the deal are expected to be announced soon.
