AUSSIE Senna Agius, 20 from Sydney, won his way to the front row of the grid in Moto2 and stepped away best to lead the World Championship race for the first time at home and held on through six laps in a thrilling contest with Manuel Gonzalez and David Alonso.
But it was an early battle that was to set up a fantastic victory in his own home grand prix… the big Aussie crowd went wild!
Agius had a couple of moments, heading up into the wind early but continued to hold the front spot while riders were swapping places behind him.
By lap 8 of 23, Agius had moved out to a half-second gap and some clear air with the fastest lap of the race, getting that out to a full second as the riders behind him changed places while slowing each other in the wake of Agius.
By mid-race distance Agius had it out to almost four seconds in front and it was his race to lose as the championship contenders Diogo Moreira, Manuel Gonzalez and David Alonso slowed each other down with close racing in a real title shootout.
The weather was fine and cool but the action on the track was hot and exciting as Moreira and Gonzalez battled for second and ascendency in the overall title, working their tyres hard and playing into the Aussie’s hands up ahead, out by almost six seconds with six laps to go.
After 20 laps of 23, Agius was still maintaining a six-second gap, continuing to roll out competitive times while in second, third and fourth there was a tremendous fight going on, at one stage, the bikes touched as they surged through the corners.
With two laps to go, it was all Agius… could he continue to hold on?
You bet he could with the chasing pack coming hard and ultimately closing it down to three seconds but it was Agius all the way as he grabbed an Australian flag and went on a raucous lap of the track as the perfect setup for the big race to follow, the MotoGP.
David Alonso finished second and Diogo Moreira third. It was the first time an Aussie had finished on the top step of the Moto2 podium at Phillip Island.
Asked how it felt, Senna said he was almost lost for words.
"It means everything. Last year we set the benchmark and my aim this year was to win it, and I can't believe we've done it. I'm over the moon. I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of my team but to do it on home soil, I can't imagine a better feeling than that," he said.
In the Moto3 race, Aussie Joel Kelso secured a podium finish when he claimed second in thrilling circumstances while his compatriot Jacob Roulstone made a great charge from further back on the grid before dropping the bike due to rider error.
