Reigning SX2 Australian Supercross Champion Gavin Faith will transition to the premier SX1 category when the gates drop on the 2015 season at Bathurst, NSW, on 10 October.

Faith has re-signed with the Penrite Honda Racing team to ride a CRF450R, joined by Venezuelan champion Anthony Rodriguez on the official factory Honda team.

Confirmation of Faith and Rodriguez’s appearance for the entire championship boosts the international rider line-up, which has already seen American James Stewart and American-based Australian Chad Reed announced for Sydney’s AUS-X Open.

For Faith, this will be the fifth-straight year he has taken aim on the Australian Supercross Championship, which he’s been making a happy hunting ground of by capturing the SX2 title in 2012 and again last year.

But this year Faith moves up to the SX1 division, where multi-time Australian champion Matt Moss from Team Motul Suzuki is the defending champion, and their confrontation across six rounds in the championship chase is set to be a classic.

“I am really looking forward to coming back to Australia,” said Faith. “I love the country and am excited that the Australian Supercross Championship is growing. I was super-pumped to win the SX2 Australian championship last year and will be going all-out for another championship this year.”

Meanwhile 20-year-old Rodriguez was a multi-time national motocross championship winner in his native Venezuela, before taking aim on a race career in the USA, which saw him rack up a dozen American amateur national titles before turning pro.

In 2014 and 2015 Rodriguez scored a 250 Class ride with the factory-backed Star Racing Yamaha team and this year nailed down sixth overall in the AMA Eastern Regional 250 Supercross title chase, highlighted by two fifth place finishes.