Image: Foremost Media.

New SX2 number three Rhys Budd’s future is up in the air following Adelaide’s final round of AUSX, stating that ‘I proved that I’m still fast and can still do it’ after he returned to podium form in the closing stages of the 2025 season.

It was a turbulent 2025 campaign for the 24-year-old both indoors and out, after making a high-profile switch during the middle of ProMX from Raceline Husqvarna to Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki.

Budd finished ninth in the MX2 standings outdoors and then recorded lowly 8-9 results in Redcliffe. He has gradually improved since that point, rising to seventh at Cronulla and then displaying further signs of progression in Melbourne’s AUSX Open with a P6 result overall.

The weekend in Adelaide saw Budd lead the first SX2 final, before an apparent bike malfunction relegated him to P4. Second in race two was enough to claim an emotion-charged third position on the podium and to solidify that same result in the SX2 championship.

“It’s been a wild year altogether, and to finally pull my finger out and have a crack tonight, it feels really good,” Budd told MotoOnline. “I’m very proud of myself and everyone around me who helped me – it was tough after those first rounds, and I said to my wife, ‘I don’t know if I want to go racing anymore.’

“But I kept fighting, I kept coming back, and I’m proud of myself for that. Tonight was bittersweet, leading that first final and then a bit of an engine malfunction [cost me], but third on the night, third for the championship – that’s a big achievement for me.”

Budd’s result comes at an opportune time as this year’s season finishes, showing that he still has the capabilities to run up front in the 250 division as he targets a new deal for 2026 and beyond.

“I have failed many, many times this year,” he continued. “But that makes me stronger, and to finally get the job done, when it counts the most, as I don’t have a deal for 2026, I think that I proved that I’m still fast and can still do it, which I’m very happy about.”