MotoGP's radically different 2027 rider line-up is complete
Australian Moto2 frontrunner Senna Agius will, as long expected, step up to MotoGP in 2027 as part of the Tech3 KTM squad, sealing the final vacancy on next year’s grid.
Agius won a long battle for the ex-Maverick Vinales seat with current Intact team-mate and Moto2 championship leader Manu Gonzalez.
Tech3 boss Guenther Steiner has been open for some time about how the team's final spot, joining the already-signed Luca Marini, was essentially reserved for either Agius or Gonzalez, with no rush for the team to make a decision until it saw how the middle part of the season played out.
Agius, who came though the slightly less traditional route of the European Moto2 championship instead of Moto3, steps up as a current frontrunner in Moto2, currently sitting fourth in the championship, and brings lots of potential according to his new boss Steiner.
"We believe Senna has the qualities to make a very strong step into MotoGP," said the former Haas Formula 1 team principal.
"He has shown impressive speed and maturity in Moto2, but what really stood out to us was his determination to keep improving and his attitude towards the work required to succeed.
"We are building a team for a completely new era of MotoGP, and we wanted to combine experience with young talent. Senna represents an exciting part of that future.
"We know there will be a lot for him to learn but we are ready to support him through that process. We are very pleased to welcome him to Tech3 and look forward to seeing him grow with us."
The length of Agius's deal hasn't been confirmed by Tech3, with the release announcing his signing stating only that it is for 2027.
The move to sign an Australian, as countryman and stalwart of the grid Jack Miller departs, has been linked to MotoGP's big push to replace the iconic Phillip Island with a new parklands circuit in Adelaide for next year, with the importance on having a local racer on the grid believed to have played a role in Agius's deal.
However, it has also caused paddock consternation that it will come at the expense of Gonzalez, who currently leads the Moto2 championship race.
Five times a race winner this year to Agius's two and well on path to title success that he was denied last year in large part by technical problems, Gonzalez will likely remain in the middleweight class should he win the championship or not.
Tech3's Agius announcement means the only question mark left in the radically changed 2027 MotoGP line-up is where Honda places Diogo Moreira and David Alonso.
It has signed both but is yet to decide who gets the work seat alongside Fabio Quartararo and who is in the LCR ride currently occupied by Moreira.
Only five of the current line-up will go into 2027 in the same team as this year - or six if Moreira stays at LCR.
And the arrival of rookies Nicolo Bulega, Dani Holgado, Agius, Alonso and Ivan Guevara means race winners Franco Morbidelli, Vinales, Alex Rins, Miller and Brad Binder have all lost their places on the MotoGP grid.
Complete 2027 MotoGP line-up
Ducati: Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta
VR46 Ducati: Fermin Aldeguer, Nicolo Bulega
Gresini Ducati: Joan Mir, Dani Holgado
Aprilia: Marco Bezzecchi, Pecco Bagnaia
Trackhouse Aprilia: Raul Fernandez, Enea Bastianini
KTM: Fabio Di Giannantonio, Alex Marquez
Tech3 KTM: Luca Marini, Senna Agius
Honda: Fabio Quartararo, Diogo Moreira or David Alonso
LCR Honda: Johann Zarco, Diogo Moreira or David Alonso
Yamaha: Jorge Martin, Ai Ogura
Pramac Yamaha: Toprak Razgatlioglu, Izan Guevara
