Australian Moto2 entry Senna Agius says he ‘felt like a front-runner’ as he fought for a top five position during the opening half of the German grand prix, however it proved to be an admittedly bittersweet weekend after a sudden loss of grip denied him of capitalising on a promising result.

The Husqvarna IntactGP rider displayed strong form from the outset at the Sachsenring’s ninth round of the 2024 Moto2 World Championship, qualifying on the second row with a highly impressive P4 – just 0.163s shy of pole position.

The youthful talent maintained his impressive form during Sunday’s 25-lap encounter, where he challenged for position inside the top five for the majority of the outing until an error in the back half of the race saw him relegated down the field, ultimately salvaging P11 at the finish line.

“Today has been bittersweet,” Agius admitted. “For the first 10-15 laps I could understand the feeling and see the guys up front – I could see them struggling and I was adapting my riding. I thought I was saving the tyre and today was my day, then we encountered a super-sudden drop and I locked the front into turn eight and ran wide.

“I lost a few positions and it was a bit devastating. We need to analyse where the others might have found an advantage with a tyre that I didn’t feel – maybe I didn’t use it enough. Anyway, I’m leaving Germany happy and proud – I gave it my all and I felt like a front-runner.”

Agius is now ranked 15th in the standings with 26 world championship points to his name as the series heads into the European summer break, scheduled to return on 2-4 August at Silverstone in the United Kingdom.