Image: Foremost Media.

An opportunity to return to Honda machinery for the 2026 ProMX season has seen Rhys Budd surface onboard a CRF in recent weeks as part of a wider reset in his professional career.

The 24-year-old began last year’s outdoor season with the Todd Waters-led Raceline Husqvarna team, before making a mid-season switch to Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki from round four at Traralgon.

That partnership continued through the AUSX Supercross series, where Budd posted a season-high second at the Adelaide Grand Final and finished third overall in the SX2 standings.

With Empire moving to a premier class-only program in 2026 and Budd being unable to come to terms with the newly-introduced JPM 250 operation, he will instead remain in the quarter-litre division, lining up onboard an independent CRF250R.

“I’m really excited to go racing in 2026 on Honda in the MX2 class,” Budd told MotoOnline. “I feel like the best of me is still to come, and I feel really good on the new bike. I reckon the new year is going to look pretty good.

“I’ve been on some fairly high-level teams my whole senior career, so obviously, this year looks a little bit different for me, more like a satellite team. But honestly, I’m really excited about it. I’m still putting the whole deal together, but the support I’ve got in a very short amount of time already feels like more than I had when I was on a factory team.

“I feel like with some of the factory teams, I probably wasn’t really the number one focus. There were times when the attention was more so on someone else, and stuff like that. So it feels nice to be somewhere where I’m the focus and the priority.

“We’re really working hard to make me comfortable and to give me as much support as we possibly can. In a short amount of time on this bike, I already feel really good and confident.”

Budd spent a portion of his junior career with Honda and formed part of CRF Honda Racing in 2019. He later lined up with Yamalube Yamaha Racing – claiming P2 in the MX2 standings in 2022 – and the now-defunct Serco Yamaha team, followed by more recent stints at Raceline and Empire.

“I’m excited for the new year,” he added. “I feel like being away from the factory side of things is going to take a little bit of pressure off myself at the races, which I think will be a good thing. I can just show up, enjoy being at the races, and not have that constant pressure of needing to perform.

“Not that I don’t want to do well – obviously, I truly believe I can still win and go out there and be competitive – but I don’t have that pressure hanging over me.”