Image: Supplied.

A convincing performance in Sunday’s Moto2 World Championship bout at Aragon saw Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s fill-in Senna Agius display top 10 potential but was ultimately hindered by two long lap penalties throughout the race.

Agius, 17, continued with the squad at Aragon as team regular Sam Lowes remained unfit to compete following left shoulder and upper arm injuries sustained at Silverstone.

Marking his third weekend in the Moto2 World Championship, Agius qualified P21 in Spain and finished the race in 16th. The results don’t tell the complete story, however, as Agius clawed back the group fighting for P10 after serving his first long lap – received for an error made in Misano while trying to overtake another rider.

Running inside the points, Agius was given another long lap for exceeding track limits and posted a quicker final lap than the nine riders in front of him in a gutsy attempt to regain time. Throughout the race, the Australian showed pace strong enough to finish inside the top 10, reeling off multiple high 1m53s and low 1m54s.

“I felt really mentally solid out there today,” Agius explained. “After the first long lap I just put my head down and caught the group again. I was managing the drop of the tyres really well compared to the last races where I kind of lost my way a bit. I met some personal goals there.

“In the end I was pushing a bit hard and on the exit of turn 10 in the third sector, I ran onto the track limit. I knew I had made a mistake. I saw it on my dash and thought, another long lap!’ But I didn’t give up on the last lap. A top twelve was definitely on the cards today. We have to take these two penalties into consideration and be happy about today.”

Agius’ immediate Moto2 World Championship future appears dependent on the return of Sam Lowes, which seems highly likely from Japan. Three races remain in the 2022 European Moto2 series where Agius has shown breakout form throughout the season and will look to end the championship on a high with Promo Racing.