Bright prospects for Senna Agius after Misano crash: MotoGP test at Spielberg?

The only German GP team in the paddock enjoyed a largely very successful weekend on the Adriatic coast with its Moto2 and Moto3 teams. In Peter Öttl’s squad, David Almansa missed out on victory by a thousandth of a second; stand-in rider David Gonzalez raced to 11th place.

Things went even better in Moto2. Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez started the race from P5. Team-mate Senna Agius was the favourite. The Aussie had stunned the field in Q2 with a time of 1:33.718. Brimming with confidence, the third-placed rider in the World Championship shot out of the starting grid at Misano – only for his race to be over by Turn 1. Rookie Piqueras had overplayed his hand and, with a completely reckless manoeuvre, sent the entire front row – including himself – into the gravel.

Senna Agius war in Misano der schnellste Moto2-Racer

Foto: Gold and Goose

Whilst Manuel Gonzalez capitalised on the chaos and pulled away to victory, Agius watched from the Intact pit. In the end, not only was the prospect of a fifth GP victory gone – third place in the World Championship also went to his rival Ivan Ortola.

Looking to the future, however, the 21-year-old can breathe a sigh of relief. It has long been more than just a rumour that Senna Agius will be competing in the premier class in 2027. Both KTM and Tech3 agree that Agius has everything it takes for a successful MotoGP career. Official confirmation that Agius will line up alongside Luca Marini as a MotoGP rookie next year is now merely a formality – the rider line-up is expected to be officially confirmed as early as next week.

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18.09.2026 - 08:55

Die 850er-MotoGP-KTM unter Tester Dani Pedrosa

Foto: David Ulrich

The notion that Agius is set to make the step up with KTM was further fuelled at the Misano GP by rumours that the Moto2 rider could make his MotoGP debut as early as the upcoming 850cc test on Monday following the Austrian GP. Barring any unforeseen complications such as an injury – in 2025, Agius crashed at the Red Bull Ring and subsequently missed the Hungarian Grand Prix – the youngster is set to line up alongside Pol Espargaró, KTM hero Acosta and his team-mate Brad Binder.

The early deployment of Agius, who is already accustomed to Pirelli tyres, seems reasonable, as apart from the young Australian, none of the new regular riders for 2027 (Marini/Honda, Di Giannantonio and Marquez/Ducati) are currently available.