The people most influential in the epic win by Senna Agius at the Australian Moto2 round explain how he has the potential to achieve true greatness at the highest level of the sport
There are many reasons why Senna Agius’s dominant victory at Phillip Island shouldn’t have been possible. The wind on race day was a factor. The nature of the track, which encourages large group fights, was another. Plus, the pressure of racing in front of an expectant home crowd would be too much to bear for some.
Yet Agius posted a performance of calmness and maturity that belied his 20 years to become the first Australian to win an intermediate class at home – and take the second victory of his career. And all in just his second Grand Prix season.
It’s clear the rider from just outside Sydney is going places. AMCN caught up with three names from his circle – IntactGP team manager Jurgen Ling, his father Jonno, and personal manager Chaz Davies – to understand how he did it.
AMCN: What stood out that made you want to work with Senna?
Jurgen Ling: “We saw from the beginning something extra when he was in CEV Moto2. I remember very well the crew chief from our team called me (in 2022) and said, ‘Keep an eye on this guy. There’s something special here.’ From this moment we got in touch. I saw the same as the crew chief as everything was fitting well – it was a good mood from the beginning. The talent was easy to see.”
Chaz Davies: “As he comes from Australia, it’s an all-in thing. I’ve always seen in Senna a really talented kid with any bike we’ve ridden on, whether it’s on tarmac, trials, motocross or flat track. He’s got a lot of natural ability. He’s not shy of hitting some big stuff.”
AMCN: How did he manage to deal with the pressure of having to perform in GPs right away?
Jonno Agius: “For Australians it seems it’s already difficult for us to get a chance to be in the world championship. We’ve got to prove ourselves even more because we don’t have many Australians here. So, people don’t know that you’ve won however many Australian titles. When you come in this paddock people are figuring you out for the first time. It’s different for the Europeans.
“At the beginning we tried to make it as fun as we could. I’ve always looked at it as a big adventure. It’s fun that we’re doing things together, we’re doing things as a family. You get to travel the world so you have to look at the positives, rather than thinking about the pressure. It’s a sink or swim situation here so you either get there or you don’t. And if you don’t, that’s okay as well. At least we had fun along the way.”
AMCN: Has it been a plus for him to have championship challenger Manuel Gonzalez come into the team in 2025?
Jurgen Ling: “Manu was immediately fast. In the tests his crew didn’t always give him the best tyres at the best time. They were working always on the pace. He could see what Manu was doing different as in our team everything is always transparent. It’s a help for him. (There were occasions) that he felt he wasn’t good enough because the other side was always winning. I said, ‘Wait. It will come.’
On the one side it’s a big help. On the other it’s extra pressure, which is coming from himself.”
AMCN: How has he made such a significant step forward in 2025?
Jonno Agius: “I think it’s a bit more experience. It’s being more comfortable in your own skin. He’s got an amazing work ethic which a lot of people don’t see. But it’s one of the best in the paddock. It comes as no surprise that when he puts his mind to something, he’ll figure it out.”
Chaz Davies: “I think it’s maturity, experience and people around him giving him feedback on where to put his priorities and how to make himself clear and understood. If you look at where he’s at in terms of his experience, generally, he’s racing against people who have been in Moto3. That’s why we sometimes see the inconsistencies. It’s been great in some places, not so great in others. Sometimes the inexperience will be there on a Friday. He’ll catch up on Saturday but not enough to get an ideal grid position. Then it’s left to him having solid pace for the top six but you never see it because the starting position has compromised that race. You can’t shortcut experience, especially when you’re a thinker, like he is. It all goes in and he’ll be in a different position this time next year.”
AMCN: It seems one of Senna’s best traits is his desire to learn…
Jonno Agius: “Part of my job is to get practice bikes ready and to prepare the travel to train at some circuits (between races) that he maybe hasn’t been at before. Or even if it’s just training with the boys. That’s my role. That’s just part of what we need to do. If people are training, you need to go and train with them. It’s fun and part of the adventure. It’s something that goes with his work ethic. He’s always wanting to improve, get better and fix problems. For me that’s what marks a potential champion. You’re always going to be good at certain things. But working on the weaker points will only make you better.”
Chaz Davies: “He’s an absolute workaholic. You don’t have to tell him to do this or that, because he’s self-motivated. He’s very analytical and everything’s up for question. Like his training, he always wants to be better. (Sometimes) you’ve got to stop him and save him from himself. When he broke his wrist in Austria, he got ill in the summer. But he was still trying to keep his fitness. Coming back from that injury, he did all the rehab he had to do. Amongst that he was flatout training to the extent he was sending me photos of his legs at the side of the road saying, ‘They’ve stopped working. I need help!’ There’s training hard and there’s training smart. But it’s much easier this way than telling him to get out of bed or put down the Playstation controller.”
AMCN: Has he recently taken a step with how he communicates with the team?
Chaz Davies: “Senna had one thousand things on his mind when he came in. All of it was valid. But he used his own terminology with a non-native English speaking group. We tried to strip that back. Even if he spends a very concise, well-thought out 10 minutes rather than a half hour in a debrief, it has double the impact. That needed working on. Someone I know who has been working here a long time told me he’s done a great job to improve that. He sits down, has a drink, thinks about what he wants to say and then goes.”
AMCN: Would you say Senna is ahead of where you expected him to be?
Jurgen Ling: “To be winning in his second year, I thought it’d take more time. You have to consider where he’s coming from. If you come from Moto3 you know the tracks and how everything works in this paddock. This was a really hard job. It’s still hard for us to keep him calm – he always wants to do two steps. These ups and downs we’ve had are normal. But he won’t accept this! We’ve had several meetings about that and it’s coming better.”
Chaz Davies: “Winning a Grand Prix is never easy, especially Moto2. I really believe in Senna. He’s shown in many flashes that he’s got a serious skillset. To win two races this year with multiple podiums, I’d say the standouts this year have been above expectation. The experience shows and the consistency needs to be there.”
AMCN: Phillip Island was a special weekend. How did he do it?
Jonno Agius: “It was a massive achievement and ultimately a dream come true. I remember taking Senna to a MotoGP race when he was maybe seven or eight years old… seeing his eyes light up when they came down the straight. Then to see him becoming the first Australian to win a race there in the intermediate class is just absolutely amazing. All the hard work and sacrifices pay off for moments like that.”
Chaz Davies: “I think he’s shown with his Phillip Island win, and to be able to dominate like that, it’s a massive head-turner. It’s so hard to get away there. One of the biggest takeaways is how he handled the pressure. He was pushed wide into Turn 1 the first few times but then after could hit his marks 21 times. I’m really proud how he handled that. If he keeps going and gets more consistent, his trajectory is a strong one.
One thing I’ve always felt is he’ll thrive with the more horsepower you give him. You see these solid Moto2 riders who get to MotoGP and start flourishing. I really believe Senna could be a case of that. I don’t want to see him hang around in Moto2 too long. He needs to get the right amount of experience here and then get into MotoGP and he’ll do the rest of the talking.”
