Behind the scenes with Senna Agius on his Moto2 launch
Maiden Moto2 successful wildcard for Agius at Red Bull Ring
With Stephanie Redman
Senna Agius, 17, from Camden, NSW, just made her world championship debut against Elf Marc VDS Team at Round 13 MotoGP World Championship in Austria.
Done a great job on my Moto2 for FIM JuniorGP World Championship, having won the podium in six of the eight races so far this season, we were hoping a wildcard would be a possibility at some point this year. This not only helps us assess his current level, but also helps to gain more experience and continue to grow. So when we had the opportunity to get to know such a prestigious team, we of course jumped into it.
When a racer fills in like that, there’s so much to organize in a short amount of time, skins, boots, gloves, emblems, bike numbers, uniforms, flights and the list goes on… It was a huge effort to get a new one to ride on the net and take a look at the part, but the entire Marc VDS ELF Team did an incredible job. Not only did they make it easy for you to sort things out, but they also made us feel really welcome, like part of the family.
The level of professionalism and culture in this team has made the transition much easier for Senna. JuniorGP classes are a great stepping stone to the World Championship, however rider qualifications and experience vary widely. Senna will enter this weekend with the odds against him in some way, as most track and field racers usually do. The motorcycle, the team and the track are all new to him, and Friday morning will be his first time experiencing it all together.
We don’t have any expectations for the weekend, other than to see where he is at the start and try to progress from there. First Practice is just as you imagine, full of tension and blunders, seeing Senna end up at the bottom of the timeline. However, this is not surprising, the pressure of being on the world stage and trying to find the bike and the track is not an easy task. The surprise was that despite everything, he was only 2.8 seconds short of the fastest time in the session. We got off to a good start.
With a super support team, rich in knowledge and experience in both team leader Gilles Biggot and data technician Julien Robert, Senna is able to resolve issues as they arise and make adjustments. when necessary.
Working closely with his crew, he was able to drop 1.3 seconds in FP2 and 1.4 seconds more in FP3. He is sitting at the age of 25order position, just 1.1 seconds from the leader in the last free practice session, a significant step up from where he started at the weekend.
The motorcycle has similarities to his bike in the CEV, but there are also some major differences, mainly in the way it has to be driven to generate lap times. Having data from Sam Lowes, who put it on pole last year, we know the setup is in the ballpark and the biggest benefit will come from Senna’s adaptability. The team knew this too and did an amazing job helping him understand the changes he needed to make, while giving him a feel for the bike that allowed him to do the same. so.
Senna is already in Q1 and with a few more tweaks to what he’s doing, becoming a top 4 driver and moving up to Q2 is not out of the question. In the previous 40 minutes, the pressure to post a quick time was less, he could work through the things on his list and build through, but in the qualifying 15 minutes, this was even more so. becomes more difficult. He’s a little more nervous for this session than he was before, knowing that if he can put it all together, he’ll have a hit in Q2.
He went out of his way to push to the lap time bank, and after posting 1:35,197 on round 4, a time about the same as his FP3 session but with what appears to be twice as much effort, he gathered and focused on what he needed to do to go fast.
In the remaining rounds, he built up his pace and managed to establish the weekend’s personal best, 1:34,938. This time put him 8order during the trading session and fell only 0.4 from a position in Q2. He started 21 years oldst on the leaderboard, just one place behind seasoned veteran Joe Roberts. An outstanding effort that exceeded all of our expectations.
Sunday’s 25 lap race is something different again for Senna, which will be the longest he has been in, as JuniorGP races have only 18 laps. This means that managing things like tire degradation and fuel intake will be different from what he knows.
This, along with a few minor fouls that resulted in a long lap free kick meant he wasn’t completely satisfied with the race. He completed it at the age of 17order position, just 6.5 seconds since scoring his first world championship. And while he now looks back to see where he could improve, to some extent he can also see how well he did.
To ride the weekend, improve each session and work well with the team, we couldn’t ask for more. Red Bull Ring weekend was like climbing Everest and we were lucky to have some experienced sherpas on our side. Although we have learned a lot, there is still a long way to go. I feel like we’ve only just made it to base camp, but we’re taking everything from this weekend and continuing to build in Misano this week.
My sincerest thanks to the entire ELF Marc VDS team for standing behind Senna and giving this young Australian a chance. Now to Misano…
Race results Red Bull Ring Moto2
Location | Rider | Motorcycle | Time / Distance |
first | Who OGURA | KALEX | 39m30,070 |
2 | Somkiat CHANTRA | KALEX | +0.173 |
3 | Jake DIXON | KALEX | +7.854 |
4 | Pedro ACOSTA | KALEX | +7,960 |
5 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KALEX | +8,037 |
6 | Aron CAN | KALEX | +9.401 |
7 | Alonso LOPEZ | BOSCOSCURO | +12,995 |
8 | Marcel SCHROTTER | KALEX | +18,254 |
9 | Albert ARENAS | KALEX | +20.661 |
ten | Jeremy ALCOBA | KALEX | +22.227 |
11 | Jorge NAVARRO | KALEX | +23.443 |
twelfth | Barry BALTUS | KALEX | +25,793 |
13 | Cameron BEAUBIER | KALEX | +27,788 |
14 | Joe ROBERTS | KALEX | +27,909 |
15 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | KALEX | +28,347 |
16 | Niccolò ANTONELLI | KALEX | +34.611 |
17 | Senna AGIUS | KALEX | +34,928 |
18 | Zonta VD GOORBERGH | KALEX | +36.314 |
19 | Marcos RAMIREZ | MV AGUSTA | +44,837 |
20 | Simone CORSI | MV AGUSTA | +48,602 |
21 | Rory SKINNER | KALEX | +48.814 |
22 | Taiga HADA | KALEX | +59,204 |
Not classified | |||
DNF | Fermin ALDEGUER | BOSCOSCURO | 5 rounds |
DNF | Celestino VIETNAM | KALEX | 7 rounds |
DNF | Lorenzo DALLA PORTA | KALEX | 8 rounds |
DNF | Tony ARBOLINO | KALEX | 8 rounds |
DNF | Filip SALAC | KALEX | 15 rounds |
DNF | Manuel GONZALEZ | KALEX | 19 rounds |
DNF | Keminth KUBO | KALEX | 20 rounds |
DNF | Sean Dylan KELLY | KALEX | 20 rounds |
DNF | Alessandro ZACCONE | KALEX | 24 rounds |