Carlton Dry Honda Racing has announced that Jackson Richardson will fill-in for Josh Cachia for the remainder of the 2013 season while US rider Gavin Faith will return to defend his 2012 Australian Supercross Championships Lites crown.

Throughout the year Richardson has been in the US contesting both the AMA Supercross and Motocross championships where he earned a career-best ninth overall 250 Class finish at the Toronto Monster Energy Supercross round.

Richardson has now returned to Australia for a break in his US program and is excited to contest both the Motocross and Supercross championships while Cachia sits sidelined with wrist injuries.

“I haven’t raced Motocross in Australia since 2011 so I am looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do,” Richardson said. “The US has been an amazing experience, I have learnt a lot competing in both the AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross.

“This opportunity came up at the right time, I had finished my program of events and was due to come home for a break.”

Carlton Dry Honda Racing team manager Chris Woods looks forward to working with Richardson and believes he has the speed to run at the pointy end of the field in both disciplines.

“We were aware Jackson was coming home in a break during his US schedule and the Lites position had become available due to Josh succumbing to a wrist injury,” said Woods. “We wanted to get someone on the bike who we could run in both motocross and supercross so the timing was perfect.

“I’m looking forward to working with Jackson. I’ve been keeping an eye on his results over the last few years and I think he has the speed to run up the front.”

Faith dominated the Australian Supercross Championship in 2012 winning three of the four rounds to take the title ahead of Ryan Marmont.

The American finished fifth in the AMA Supercross east coast championship this year and will spend the next month at the Millsaps Training Facility preparing for his return to Australia in early September.

“I am really looking forward to coming back to Australia,” Faith said. “I love the country and I am excited that the Australian Supercross Championship is growing.

“This will be my third time in Australia competing in Supercross and this year I return as the defending champion. I had a good season in the US finishing fifth in the east coast championship so I think I will be returning even better prepared this year.”

Faith has done his research and looks forward to checking out the scenery at Darwin’s opening round of the series on 14 September.

“I looked up Darwin on the internet and it looks like an exciting place to visit,” he added. “I really hope I get to see a bit of the region while we are there.”