{"id":894724,"date":"2026-09-17T01:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894724\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:08:15","slug":"motogp-2026-senna-agius-interview-after-2027-promotion-to-ktm-praise-for-jack-miller-new-aussie-rider-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894724\/","title":{"rendered":"MotoGP 2026: Senna Agius interview after 2027 promotion to KTM, praise for Jack Miller, new Aussie rider, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next year\u2019s MotoGP rookie Senna Agius says he\u2019s 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<\/a> gives the category a brand-new look. <\/p>\n

Every MotoGP qualifying, practice and race LIVE and ad-break free from lights out to the chequered flag. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today ><\/a><\/p>\n

Agius, 21, was confirmed to be graduating from the world championship\u2019s Moto2 category to the main game<\/a> with the Tech3 KTM outfit on Wednesday (AEST), where he\u2019ll partner experienced Italian Luca Marini in an all-new line-up for the squad owned by former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Agius\u2019s rookie season will coincide with the departure of Miller to World Superbikes<\/a> after a 12-year career in the top flight, and a world championship tenure that stretches back to the 125cc category in 2011. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really proud to keep Australia alive on the grid,\u201d Agius tells Fox Sports in an exclusive interview. <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course next year I would have loved to be alongside Jack \u2013 he\u2019s a really good friend of mine and he\u2019s helped me a lot the last couple of years within the paddock, and it\u2019s sad that I can\u2019t race with him for Australia. Two of us would have been fantastic. But I\u2019m happy to be taking on the baton, and I just want to have Australia there with me. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019m super proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n

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EXPLAINER<\/a> How Marquez went from \u2018no chance\u2019 to leader as all-time comeback looms large<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The NSW native enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2025, winning his maiden two Grands Prix at Silverstone with a dramatic last-lap pass<\/a> before a dominant victory at Phillip Island<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven when you\u2019re winning in Moto2 and you\u2019re at the front, it\u2019s not a given,\u201d he said of a MotoGP promotion. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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 \u2026 it definitely feels really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE MOTOGP NEWS<\/p>\n

TALKING POINTS<\/a>: Champ\u2019s stunning recovery, Aprilia\u2019s own goal, Aussie young gun seethes<\/p>\n

THE UGLIEST BREAK-UPS<\/a> The riders counting down the days after 2027\u2019s chaotic grid reshuffle<\/p>\n

Two-time MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia will become one of Agius\u2019 new rivals in 2027. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

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\u2019s primary technical battleground. <\/p>\n

Add the switch to Pirelli tyres from the Michelin rubber that has been the category\u2019s exclusive brand since 2016, the move of the Australian Grand Prix from Phillip Island<\/a> after three decades to a brand-new city parklands circuit in Adelaide<\/a>, and a volatile rider market where just five of this year\u2019s 22 riders are confirmed to be racing for their current teams in 2027, Agius feels the time is right to step up.<\/p>\n

Adelaide unveils MotoGP circuit plans | 00:59<\/p>\n

Aprilia is the only one of MotoGP\u2019s five factories not to employ at least one rookie in 2027, with Agius\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201c2027 is definitely the year to go in as a rookie,\u201d Agius said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was any other year \u2026 of course you\u2019d take it if the opportunity came, but 2027 is an easier entrance. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe rookies will certainly have a load more to adapt to with the life and the expectations of being a MotoGP rider, so there\u2019s still a lot that we\u2019ll 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\u2019ll all have to adapt at the same time. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely an advantage. If the boat came past, we were jumping on \u2026 I\u2019m 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

With such a jumbled grid and with little to no technical continuity between seasons, what\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe level is going to be super high, and anyone\u2019s rookie season, when you analyse the rookie seasons of other riders, it definitely looks bumpy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s normal, so I want to enjoy all the moments, the good ones and the tough ones, and that\u2019ll make the experience a whole lot better. But it feels amazing \u2026 a huge sense of achievement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited, and I\u2019m obviously a little bit nervous as it\u2019s such a massive step. I feel I\u2019ve well and truly deserved it, I\u2019ve got peace of mind that I\u2019ve put in the hard work and I definitely feel ready. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve grown a lot this year, so I\u2019m confident and calm about it \u2026 but closer to when testing starts, I\u2019ll definitely get butterflies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Next year\u2019s MotoGP rookie Senna Agius says he\u2019s proud to keep the Australian flag flying in 2027, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-894724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}