Next year’s MotoGP rookie Senna Agius says he’s proud to keep the Australian flag flying in 2027, as a rebooted world championship, a history-making new home for the Australian Grand Prix and the changing of the guard with the departure of compatriot Jack Miller gives the category a brand-new look.
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Agius, 21, was confirmed to be graduating from the world championship’s Moto2 category to the main game with the Tech3 KTM outfit on Wednesday (AEST), where he’ll partner experienced Italian Luca Marini in an all-new line-up for the squad owned by former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner.
Agius will become the 11th Australian rider to compete in the world championship since it became known as MotoGP in 2002, and continues a legacy of full-time Australian riders in the category that began with Wayne Gardner in 1985.
Agius’s rookie season will coincide with the departure of Miller to World Superbikes after a 12-year career in the top flight, and a world championship tenure that stretches back to the 125cc category in 2011.
“I feel really proud to keep Australia alive on the grid,” Agius tells Fox Sports in an exclusive interview.
“Of course next year I would have loved to be alongside Jack – he’s a really good friend of mine and he’s helped me a lot the last couple of years within the paddock, and it’s sad that I can’t race with him for Australia. Two of us would have been fantastic. But I’m happy to be taking on the baton, and I just want to have Australia there with me.
“I’ve been overseas chasing the dream, away from the Australian motorsport scene for a long time now, but the country has definitely been front and centre in my heart. I know where I came from, and I’m super proud of it.”
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Agius will become the 11th Australian rider to race in the MotoGP category since its inception in 2002. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Agius, who won the 2023 European Moto2 championship and made a handful of fill-in appearances in the world championship in 2022-23, became a full-time Moto2 rider in 2024 and earned his first podium at home at Phillip Island that season, where he finished third.
The NSW native enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2025, winning his maiden two Grands Prix at Silverstone with a dramatic last-lap pass before a dominant victory at Phillip Island, and has won two races, taken two pole positions and finished on the podium four times this season, where he sits fourth in the world championship standings.
“Even when you’re winning in Moto2 and you’re at the front, it’s not a given,” he said of a MotoGP promotion.
“When I was getting results and the conversations were just starting, it was so close yet felt so far. As I started to become more and more in consideration I never tried to think about it too much, but it was always in the back of your mind.
“It was a tough period to understand if I was going to get the opportunity or not, and that comes with pressure to keep performing. It feels how I expected it … it definitely feels really nice.”
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Two-time MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia will become one of Agius’ new rivals in 2027. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Agius arrives in MotoGP at a time of major change in 2027, with the 1000cc bikes that have raced since 2012 replaced by all-new 850cc prototypes with a reduction on ride-height devices, rider aids and aerodynamics, the latter of which has become MotoGP’s primary technical battleground.
Add the switch to Pirelli tyres from the Michelin rubber that has been the category’s exclusive brand since 2016, the move of the Australian Grand Prix from Phillip Island after three decades to a brand-new city parklands circuit in Adelaide, and a volatile rider market where just five of this year’s 22 riders are confirmed to be racing for their current teams in 2027, Agius feels the time is right to step up.
Adelaide unveils MotoGP circuit plans | 00:59
Aprilia is the only one of MotoGP’s five factories not to employ at least one rookie in 2027, with Agius’ Moto2 rivals David Alonso, Izan Guevara and Dani Holgado beginning with Honda, Yamaha and Ducati respectively, while World Superbikes leader Nicolo Bulega will make his full-time debut with Ducati.
“2027 is definitely the year to go in as a rookie,” Agius said.
“If it was any other year … of course you’d take it if the opportunity came, but 2027 is an easier entrance.
“The rookies will certainly have a load more to adapt to with the life and the expectations of being a MotoGP rider, so there’s still a lot that we’ll be thrown into the deep end with. But in saying that, the competition have been riding the same sort of tyres and spec of bike for the last however many years, so we’ll all have to adapt at the same time.
“It’s definitely an advantage. If the boat came past, we were jumping on … I’m glad to be in this wave with the other riders, so hopefully we can get off to a smooth start and be in the mix.”
Agius took the second pole position of his Moto2 campaign at the San Marino Grand Prix last weekend. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
With such a jumbled grid and with little to no technical continuity between seasons, what’s possible for Agius in 2027 is very much unknown. Simply getting the call-up, and being realistic about the gradient of his learning curve, is enough for now.
“The level is going to be super high, and anyone’s rookie season, when you analyse the rookie seasons of other riders, it definitely looks bumpy,” he said.
“That’s normal, so I want to enjoy all the moments, the good ones and the tough ones, and that’ll make the experience a whole lot better. But it feels amazing … a huge sense of achievement.
“I’m excited, and I’m obviously a little bit nervous as it’s such a massive step. I feel I’ve well and truly deserved it, I’ve got peace of mind that I’ve put in the hard work and I definitely feel ready.
“I’ve grown a lot this year, so I’m confident and calm about it … but closer to when testing starts, I’ll definitely get butterflies.”