Image: Foremost Media.

Raceline Husqvarna Tdub Racing Team will maintain a presence in MX2 at Gillman this weekend after drafting in team support rider Jack Kukas to fill the vacated former seat of Rhys Budd.

Budd made the shock decision to depart the Todd Waters-led official Husqvarna effort following Appin, with his future currently up in the air.

While former national number two Budd is expected to be transferring to Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki in upcoming rounds – most likely from round four at Traralgon if the deal is finalised – it’s been confirmed that 23-year-old Kukas will complete the outdoors onboard the FC 250.

Kukas has been competing in a development-type arrangement through Raceline in 2025 to do, currently ranked 13th in the MX2 standings following the opening two rounds. His best result of the season came at Wonthaggi’s opener, where he placed 11th overall.

“That’s what we worked on for this year, something larger than just having the team riders in the truck, we have a development program where if somebody got hurt or something went wrong, we had a fill-in to step up,” commented Raceline team manager Andrew Franklin.

“It gives those guys something to strive to as well, knowing there’s a path they can get to. We’ll get through the motocross with Jack at this point, then look ahead to supercross and move forward from there.”

For Queensland prospect Kukas, after finishing 12th in the standings as a privateer last year, he is aiming to make the most of the unexpected newfound opportunity alongside MX1 teammates Waters and Regan Duffy, set to debut on the team bike tomorrow in South Australia.

“It’s quite exciting really – every privateer strives to get to this position and I plan to take it with both hands and see how I go with it,” Kukas told MotoOnline. “It’s obviously kind of unexpected how quickly it’s happened, but going into the development program we’ve had great advice from everyone, so I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

“My bikes have always been fairly stock, so this is a step up for me, and the suspension’s a little bit different too. I will be able to put more time into training and focusing on the weekends – it’s already less stressful, because preparation as a privateer is no joke. I’m just going to do the best that I can and see where I can progress to.”