Image: Foremost Media.

Emerging teenager Senna Agius made his premier class debut in the Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Phillip Island, banking valuable experience in a wide variety of conditions across round six.

Following a successful debut Moto2 season in the European Moto2 Championship and four wildcard outings for the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team in the Moto2 World Championship, Agius returned home to compete in the final two rounds of ASBK with Penrite Honda Racing.

Posting a 1m32.589s Agius qualified 11th in what was an immensely competitive ASBK field at Phillip Island, before rain fell prior to the opening encounter. Marking his first wet race of the season and his first on a litre-bike, the number 81 worked his way forward to P6, less than a second from a top-five result.

The wind picked up before race two in dry conditions, with Agius completing the outing in eighth before being brought down at turn four after a strong start in the final encounter, unable to finish the race.

“Heading out for race one, I was genuinely nervous, not just because it was my first Superbike race but also because of the weather conditions,” Agius explained. “It turned out to be super positive and I made consistent progress through the race without making mistakes which was easy to do with the track being as slippery as it was in the wet.

“It was a new experience to ride such a fast track this weekend, and the wind made it hard. It picked up just before race two and made life tough for everyone, I don’t think I was the only one who found it challenging. I learnt a lot and I was in the battle for P7, and I almost got it to the line but just missed out in the slipstream, the gap to the leader was quite good and the pace was strong for the conditions.

“The bike was in a much better spot for race three in the afternoon, I was riding really well, it’s just unfortunate to be taken down, it’s not a good feeling when it’s a missed opportunity but lucky we can do it all again in five days.”

Agius will have the opportunity to continue his progress in the premier class when the final round of the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship commences this Friday at The Bend.