Image: Supplied.

Double Australian SX2 champion Jackson Richardson has signed with Empire Kawasaki for the 2022 Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX).

Richardson has done little racing since the 2019 season, in which he piloted a privateer Honda in SX1 to 13th in the final standings.

This newfound Kawasaki deal will make a welcome return to the sport for the North Queenslander, who picked up back-to-back 250 crowns in 2016 and 2017 with Yamaha. He was injured prior to his 2018 title defence upon switching to Honda, then moved to SX1 the following year with mixed results.

Richardson effectively takes the place of ProMX regular Jayden Rykers for AUSX, while both Haruki Yokoyama and Jai Constantinou will continue with the Empire Kawasaki team in the SX2 category.

The four-round 2022 AUSX season is scheduled to commence at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, VIC, on 21 October, alongside round two of the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).