The problem for Agius was that there were still 22 laps to go of the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday; the problem for his opposition was that, earlier in the Phillip Island weekend, he\u2019d shown what he could do on a clear track and being left to his own devices to conquer it. <\/p>\n
Fast-forward a tick over 35 minutes later, and Agius was a home race Grand Prix winner<\/a>, Australia\u2019s first at Phillip Island since Jack Miller won the Moto3 race 11 years previously. <\/p>\n Miller\u2019s victory that day \u2013 as was Agius\u2019 breakthrough first win in Moto2 at Silverstone<\/a> in May this year \u2013 was a last-gasp thriller, victories taken with no time to think.<\/p>\n On Sunday at Phillip Island, time was all that Agius had. <\/p>\n Celebrations all round for Senna Agius | 06:44<\/p>\n Lap after lap after lap, the 20-year-old never saw another rider in front of him. Under darkening skies and with a tailwind down the start-finish straight that was so strong that every race at Phillip Island had to be delayed an hour for the worst of the conditions to dissipate, Agius and his Kalex bike were at one, yet with no-one else. <\/p>\n His lead \u2013 which peaked at 5.8 seconds as a mass pack brawl for the final two podium places erupted behind him \u2013 dwindled to 3.6secs at the chequered flag. For a rider who had never led a world championship lap before Sunday, leading 23 of them in his own backyard was simultaneously stressful, and not. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge moment to win at home, I could see the crowd and hear them on the last lap,\u201d Agius reflected later. <\/p>\n \u201cI just was thinking \u2018one corner at a time\u2019. My first victory in Silverstone was just a fight to the end, but this one was quite lonely and, mentally, completely different.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want it to end \u2026 but also, I wanted it to end.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the sort of victory that only the best Moto2 riders can muster before they inevitably graduate to MotoGP; for Australian fans sitting trackside wondering who our successor to Miller in the premier-class might be in the future, it was another sign that the Sydney kid with a name that screams motorsport royalty has what it takes. <\/p>\n It was also a win that seemed inevitable \u2013 if anything at Phillip Island can ever be considered inevitable \u2013 from 48 hours earlier.<\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n ALKING POINTS <\/a> First-time winner slots open goal, \u2018deflated\u2019 Miller\u2019s lament<\/p>\n RACE REPORT<\/a> Spaniard breaks through, Aussie suffers home heartbreak<\/p>\n Agius celebrated in style after he crushed the field in his home Grand Prix on Sunday. (Photo by Paul Crock \/ AFP) \/ –IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE–Source: AFP<\/p>\n ADVICE FROM LEGEND PUTS AGIUS ON RIGHT PATH<\/p>\n The seeds of Agius\u2019 annihilation of the field were sown in Friday\u2019s second practice session. <\/p>\n The 40-minute session isn\u2019t really about how rapidly you can ride once, it\u2019s more about building your race rhythm as a dress rehearsal for Sunday, assessing how hard and for how long you can go on a set of tyres, finding a sweet spot and staying in it. <\/p>\n For Agius, that sweet spot dwarfed whatever his rivals could find. Brazilian rival \u2013 and 2026 MotoGP graduate \u2013 Diogo Moreira ended with the session\u2019s fastest time, 0.008secs ahead of the Australian, but the Sydneysider found a zone and never left it. <\/p>\n Moreira\u2019s session-topping time (1min 30.315secs) was one of three laps the Brazilian managed in the 1:30s bracket across the session. A quartet of other rivals also managed three laps inside 91 seconds. Some other riders dipped into the 1:30s once.<\/p>\n In 21 total laps, Agius did it 12 times. <\/p>\n His precision through the third sector of Phillip Island\u2019s 4.445km layout was sublime; from the exit of the chilly and appropriately-named Siberia corner, through the Hayshed at Turn 8 and up and over the top of the signature Lukey Heights section of the track, Agius was routinely two-tenths of a second faster through a sector that lasts a tick over 17 seconds. It was as eye-catching as it was metronomic, and the basis from which to build for race day. <\/p>\n Come Saturday qualifying, Agius finished a career-best second, just 11-thousandths of a second behind pole-sitter Moreira, and a step up on his previous best of third at this year\u2019s Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, where he went on to finish in the same position in the race. <\/p>\n It left him in a confident mood that more could be possible. <\/p>\n MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n TALKING POINTS<\/a> Aussie\u2019s late attack, winner\u2019s apology, Ducati\u2019s shocker<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760997672_565_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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