Senna Agius scores Moto2 ride

Australia’s Senna Agius made his grand prix debut this past August, riding for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team in the Moto2 World Championship.

The 17-year-old from Sydney was riding in the European Moto2 series, where he had achieved six podium finishes (including two wins) from eight starts and was sitting third overall in the championship, before receiving the call-up from Marc VDS; the team that has produced Moto2 World Champions in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

Agius was drafted in to replace Sam Lowes for the Austrian and San Marino rounds, after the Brit dislocated his shoulder and fractured his left arm in practice for the British GP.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team for giving me this opportunity," Agius said when the two-round deal was announced on 13 August. “This is a big childhood dream of mine and I’m very excited to accomplish it with such an amazing team to learn from.”

For his debut at Spielberg on the weekend of 20-21 August, Agius worked his way cautiously through the Free Practice sessions and finished seventh in Q1, which meant he would start from 21st on the grid, ahead of ten other riders, including experienced Moto2 campaigners.

Over the course of the race, Agius would battle Filip Salac, Marcos Ramirez and Niccolo Antonelli at various stages. He also had to serve a Long Lap penalty, but despite this, the teenager was just outside the points in 16th place in the closing stages, before finishing 17th behind Antonelli.

“It was a really good race!” Agius enthused. “At the beginning, I made some mistakes, but it was my first race. I learnt a lot and my riding style changed a lot from the beginning of the weekend to the end.”

A fortnight later at Misano, Agius was slower in the FP sessions and qualified further back on the grid, in 25th, but would make a strong start in the race, passing four riders on the opening lap, then two more by the end of lap four.

On lap five, Agius misjudged an overtake on Filip Salac, colliding with the Czech rider and retiring two laps later.

“I didn’t crash but something was bent on the front. I had to retire, there was no way I could continue,” Agius explained.

“I’m disappointed, but over these two races I’ve learnt that you need to manage your emotions on the bike and the risk. I should’ve been a bit more patient.”

Whether Agius will receive another invite to ride for Marc VDS had not been confirmed at time of writing.