Senna Agius is heading to MotoGP
A lifelong dream realised
Senna Agius will make his MotoGP debut with Tech3 KTM in 2027, with the team officially confirming the Australian’s promotion to the premier class alongside Luca Marini.
The 21-year-old completes Tech3’s rider line-up for the new technical era, joining Marini, whose move from Honda was announced in August.
For Agius, it is the opportunity he and his family have spent years working towards.
Senna Agius
“Today, a lifelong dream of mine has come true: reaching MotoGP.”
Agius thanked Guenther Steiner and Tech3 for their trust, along with the family, friends and teams who helped him reach this point. He acknowledged the scale of the challenge and stressed his readiness to learn.
Tech3 CEO Steiner pointed to Agius’ pace and maturity, with his commitment to improvement and work ethic particularly influential in the decision. Team Manager Nicolas Goyon also highlighted his development potential and saw the new regulations as an opportunity for the team and rider to grow together.
For Australian motorcycle racing, it is a significant moment. MCNews.com.au has followed the journey since Agius was selected for the Asia Talent Cup as a 12-year-old. From dirt-track beginnings in New South Wales to Asia Talent Cup selection, JuniorGP graft, Moto2 European Championship dominance, and then race-winning form in the Moto2 World Championship, Agius built a case that became harder for MotoGP team managers to ignore.
MCNews.com.au first had Agius in the international frame back in October 2017, when Senna Agius, Ben Baker and Billy Van Eerde were confirmed for the 2018 Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup. At that point, Agius was listed as a 12-year-old, only 148 cm and 42 kg, but already part of a Dorna-backed pathway designed to identify riders with the potential to reach Grand Prix racing. He is now more than a foot taller, but that is not the only way he has grown in stature.
A long apprenticeship
Agius’ foundations were laid well before Europe. He started racing on dirt in 2013, then moved to bitumen as early as possible aboard a Honda NSF100. By 2017, he was already a front-runner at the national junior level, finishing second in the Australian Junior Road Racing titles in the 85 cc two-stroke class despite not contesting every round.
The following year brought Asia Talent Cup experience, with a sixth-place finish in Qatar one of the early signs of progress from that first serious international campaign. In 2019, he split his time between the MFJ All Japan Championship GP3 class and the Australian Supersport 300 Championship, the latter producing one of the first major trophies of his career when he beat Max Stauffer to the title by a single point at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Those years provided plenty of lessons. Not because every result was spectacular, but because they hardened Agius to the realities of international racing early. The travel, the culture shift, the different circuits, the need to adapt quickly, and the lack of comfort that comes with racing away from home all became part of the package.
In 2020 and 2021, Agius raced in the Moto3 Junior World Championship, where talent is plentiful, and results are never handed out cheaply. It wasn’t always smooth, but it added another layer to his education. When he moved to Moto2 machinery, his progress accelerated.
The Moto2 European breakthrough
The 2022 Moto2 European Championship season was where Agius began to reshape his trajectory. MCNews readers were given a more intimate look at that process through Stephanie Redman’s Riding with Redman look at Agius’ Barcelona breakthrough, which took readers behind the scenes as Agius worked through the JuniorGP Moto2 environment.
At Catalunya in June 2022, Agius broke through in emphatic fashion. He won the opening Moto2 European Championship race after forcing the issue against Lukas Tulovic, then backed it up with a dominant second race victory by more than 12 seconds. MCNews.com.au covered that weekend as back-to-back wins for Senna Agius at Barcelona JuniorGP. This was the start of some serious progression.
Runner-up in the 2022 Moto2 European Championship, Agius had done enough to earn a prime seat with the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Junior Team for 2023. Agius had been one of the riders making life difficult for its title-winning rider Lukas Tulovic, and Intact clearly saw him as a championship-calibre prospect.
The 2023 season proved that judgement correct. Agius wrapped up the Moto2 European Championship at Aragon with a double victory, winning the opening race by more than 16 seconds before completing the job later the same day. MCNews.com.au reported the milestone as Senna Agius crowned Moto2 European Champion with Aragon double. That result effectively kicked the door open to a full-time World Championship future.
From substitute to full-time Grand Prix rider
Before his full-time Moto2 World Championship opportunity arrived, Agius had already been blooded at Grand Prix level. He made substitute appearances for the injured Sam Lowes at Marc VDS during 2022, signing off with ninth place at the Valencia finale.
Further opportunities followed. In April 2023, MCNews.com.au reported that the 17-year-old Sydneysider had been called up to stand in for the injured Darryn Binder at Jerez with the LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP Moto2 team.
In October 2023, MCNews.com.au reported that Agius had secured a full-time Moto2 World Championship ride with LIQUI MOLY Husqvarna Intact GP for 2024. That meant Australia would have representation across all three Grand Prix categories, with Jack Miller in MotoGP, Senna Agius in Moto2, and Jacob Roulstone in Moto3.
Agius’ first full season in Moto2 brought the first major World Championship milestone: a podium at Phillip Island in front of family, friends and Australian fans was a watershed for Agius and his family.
Wins that changed the conversation
The first major shift came in 2025.
At Silverstone, Agius claimed his maiden Moto2 Grand Prix victory, snatching the win through the final corners ahead of Diogo Moreira and David Alonso.
Then came Phillip Island.
Agius’ home victory was a statement ride. He led from the start, controlled the race, and became the first Australian rider in Moto2 history to win on home soil. Twelve months after standing on the Phillip Island Moto2 podium for the first time, he was on the top step.
Those victories proved Agius had the speed and racecraft to win at World Championship level.
The 2026 season initially threatened to unravel before it had properly begun. Agius left the opening two rounds without a point, but responded by winning a heavily disrupted race at COTA. The Austin contest was reduced to a ten-lap restart after a red flag, leaving no time for patience or recovery from mistakes. Agius briefly lost the lead to Celestino Vietti, immediately reclaimed it, and delivered under considerable pressure.
Jerez then made it consecutive Moto2 victories. Agius had already lowered the all-time lap record during the weekend before prevailing in a tense three-rider contest against team-mate Manuel Gonzalez and polesitter Collin Veijer.
The results that followed arguably strengthened his MotoGP case further. Agius did not continue winning every Sunday, but he increasingly stopped looking like a rider reliant on occasional flashes of brilliance. He finished seventh at Le Mans and salvaged tenth at Catalunya after an abrupt deterioration in rear tyre performance, then began his most consistent sequence at World Championship level.
At Mugello, Agius missed the podium by only 0.017 seconds after attacking Daniel Holgado at the final corner. He returned to the rostrum with third place at Balaton Park, then finished fourth at Brno despite losing his right knee slider during the race.
At Assen, Agius produced one of his most complete Moto2 performances. He set the fastest lap while closing on David Alonso and Gonzalez, briefly moved into second, and finished only 0.234 seconds from victory in a three-rider fight.
Another fourth place at the Sachsenring, secured after a harder rear tyre strategy failed to provide the expected late-race advantage, completed a run of five consecutive top-five finishes.
Agius entered the 2026 summer break third in the Moto2 World Championship on 136 points, only eight behind second-placed Izan Guevara.
Misano underlined the speed, then delivered the setback
The most recent round provided another reminder of both his potential and how quickly a promising weekend can unravel.
Agius claimed pole at Misano with a new outright Moto2 lap record of 1m33.718, only for his race to end in the first-corner incident that eliminated the entire front row. Angel Piqueras made contact with Daniel Holgado, and Agius was caught in the resulting crash.
He left Misano fourth in the championship on 149 points, 8.5 behind Ivan Ortola in third.
The Gonzalez comparison remains
A significant sporting counterpoint remains. Agius’ Intact GP team-mate Manuel Gonzalez has put together the stronger Moto2 championship campaign.
Gonzalez’s fifth victory of 2026 at Misano moved him to 232.5 points, 83.5 ahead of Agius, whose wins came at COTA and Jerez. On those measures, the Spaniard has the stronger record this season.
That makes Agius’ selection an interesting example of how a MotoGP recruitment decision can differ from the championship order. His own results justify serious consideration, while Gonzalez has also made a compelling case for promotion.
Steiner’s explanation emphasises Agius’ approach to improvement and the balance he will bring alongside Marini. It gives us a clearer sense of what Tech3 values, although the announcement does not offer a direct comparison with Gonzalez or explain how other candidates were assessed.
A new rider for a new MotoGP era
The timing makes this an especially interesting opportunity. Agius will enter MotoGP as engine capacity drops from 1000 to 850 cc, aerodynamics are more tightly restricted, and the 2027 regulations ban all ride-height and holeshot devices.
Pirelli will also replace Michelin as the premier class tyre supplier. Agius already races on Pirelli rubber in Moto2, although that experience should not be mistaken for familiarity with a MotoGP tyre or motorcycle.
Every manufacturer and rider will be adapting to a substantially different package. That could reduce some of the disadvantage associated with arriving as a rookie, but Agius will still need to learn MotoGP braking, electronics, power delivery and race management while contributing to the development of a new machine.
Marini brings experience of both Ducati and Honda MotoGP machinery, giving Tech3 an established reference alongside its rookie. How quickly that combination can help KTM develop its 850 will be one of the questions of 2027.
There are no guarantees that the technical reset will produce an immediately competitive motorcycle. For Agius, however, it offers the chance to begin his premier-class career as a new generation of machinery takes shape.
Australia’s next MotoGP rider
From dirt tracks in New South Wales to the Asia Talent Cup, an Australian Supersport 300 title, European Moto2 success and Grand Prix victories, Agius has built his career one step at a time.
The official confirmation now puts a 2027 MotoGP seat at the end of that progression. There is still a Moto2 season to finish, with third in the championship within reach and further opportunities to add to his tally of victories.
For the kid from Camden, the ambition that once seemed so distant is now a confirmed place alongside the best riders in the world. The opportunity is secured. Making it count will be his biggest challenge yet. We will be along for the ride…
