EXCLUSIVE! In his latest column for Eurosport, James Toseland says he is ready to compete at the front when he makes his MotoGP debut under floodlights in Qatar this weekend.

"I'm feeling good ahead of my MotoGP debut in Qatar. We had a successful test where I was second under floodlights here a few days ago, so that is very positive.

I've got quite a bit of experience here from my Superbike days so I can concentrate on the bike and getting the set-up right.

They have done a great job putting lights up around the circuit, which cost them about $55 million, and it means we can go hurtling round at 200 miles an hour in the middle of the night.

We did some race simulations during the test so it will be no problem taking part in a night race - the difference from testing is you are wheel-to-wheel with other riders but otherwise I know exactly what it will be like.

I have had to make a lot of adjustments over the winter. It is the first time I have ever ridden a race bike; it was always production bikes before.

It is also my first time on Michelin tyres and obviously I have switched from Honda to Yamaha. There's lots of stuff to get used to.

Having a race chassis, suspension, brakes and the rest makes a huge difference - my times around Losail are five seconds quicker on the Tech 3 Yamaha than they were on the Superbike.

To have such a large margin between two similarly-powered bikes is amazing. The GP bike is so agile - the braking points are about 20 metres later and you can carry an extra 20 km/h through corners.

All the MotoGP riders have been very welcoming and I have had the chance to get to know them during the winter tests.

I'm not starstruck at racing the likes of Valentino Rossi; I respect everyone on the grid just as I did everyone in Superbikes.

You can't afford to be fazed by your rivals as everyone is aiming for the same thing and you have to believe you can compete on the same level with these guys.

My ankle has taken longer to heal than I thought after I hurt it in a crash in testing.

It was probably worse than I thought. There is some quite serious ligament damage but it is fine when it is on the footpeg and I am riding.

Vertical pressure on the foot and ankle is fine, but side-to-side movement is very painful. Thankfully it isn't a problem on the bike.

There has been more of a spotlight on me since I came fourth in BBC Sports Personality, although I think my turn on the piano might have had something to do with that!

It was great just to be there among all those top sportspeople and for 85,000 people to vote for me was great for the profile of motorcycling in Britain - especially as there was not a single footballer in the top 10.

I haven't set myself a specific target this year; I'm just going to give it my best shot at every race - that's all I can do.

I feel I am mentally and physically ready for MotoGP. I have the talent and an excellent team in Tech 3 - we are more than capable of being competitive."

MotoGP is LIVE on Eurosport and eurosport.yahoo.com. Tune in on Friday at 8pm UK time for free practice from Losail and for all the action over the weekend!

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James Toseland was talking to Alex Chick / Eurosport