At the halfway point of the 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals, MotoOnline.com.au looks back on the first five rounds and come up with our top 10 defining moments and factors that are shaping the season into the best ever (in no particular order).

Defending our turf
Considering the series is called the Australian MX Nationals, there’s been a notable lack of Aussie racers stepping up in the MX1 class.

However, that changed at the fifth round of the series at Murray Bridge when Cairns-born Motul Pirelli Suzuki rider Todd Waters put in a near flawless display to claim his first overall of the year. Making it a great day for the Aussies, JDR KTM’s Josh Cachia ripped to a MX2 win.

Styke Revitalised
One of the biggest revelations this year has been Serco Yamaha rider Luke Styke’s dominance in the hotly contested MX2 class.

Stykey has always been a viable contender, but no-one would’ve predicted the kid to win three of the five rounds and almost always be mixing it up with the front-runners. There’s no doubt the bloke has found his way out of the privateer wilderness and is the odds-on favourite for the MX2 title.

Luke Styke has stepped up his game in 2012. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Townley’s torture
As much as I hate to say it, the one point that put the 2012 MX Nationals on the world map this year was the heartbreaking loss of Carlton Dry Thor Honda’s Ben Townley during practice at the second round at Coonabarabran.

The injury-plagued racer had signed to contest the 2012 US Motocross Championship for Chad Reed’s TwoTwo Motorsports team, and after making the rest of the field look like Girl Guides at round one at Conondale (despite being crook!) jaws were jabbering he could run at top-three pace in the US.

But the entire plan unravelled at Goanna Tracks when he dislocated his hip just three days before he was due to fly out. With his TwoTwo Motorsports contract put through the shredder, BT101 is now rebuilding for yet another return to the sport. We hope to see him in action again in the near future.

What’s that sound?
Since the mid 2000s the sound of the two-stroke has been well and truly dominated by roar of four-strokes. It almost got to the point where if anyone used a two-dinger people sniggered and the lesser-skilled riders uttered a sigh of relief that they wouldn’t be finishing last that day.

But out of nowhere, the 250 two-strokes have made a massive comeback in the MXD class. At least a third of the field is racing with expansion chambers. The kids are quoting the significantly lower running and maintenance costs and the bike’s power off the start as the main attraction. It’ll be interesting to see if the revival continues…

Ben Townley once again could not catch a break in 2012. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Bunkered
If you’re a hard-pack specialist racer you’d be hating life right now. Of the five rounds of the championship so far, four have been sand-based or have had a sand element to them.

The only exception was the natural terrain-style track at Conondale. Since then the MX Nationals circus has visited Coonabarabran (mixture of sand and loam), Wonthaggi (mostly sand), Wanneroo (full sand) and Murray Bridge (mostly sand). The paddle tyres will continue to get a work-out at round six at Hervey Bay on 1 July.

Privateer pride
As good as it is to score a privileged ride with a factory team, 2012 has proved you don’t need a big semi truck and a full entourage of mechanics and specialists to win races.

At the halfway point of the series, privateers Cheyne Boyd, Jake Moss, and Adam Monea have all chalked up wins against the big-budgeted teams, and Tye Simmonds has landed two podium results. Not bad for the guys keeping it real at the back of the pits!

The two-strokes are proving to be competitive in the MXD class this year. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Marmont?
One of the big talking points this year is how little of an impact four-time defending champion Jay Marmont has had.

For a fella who traditionally starts slow, hits his straps about the halfway point, then carries the momentum through for the title time and again, 2012 has been a miserable year for both Jay and the Monster Energy Kawasaki team.

Granted, Jay has been fighting a knee injury that he carried into the series, but Jay has a reputation as one of the toughest mo’fo’s on the track. For him to have only won one of the 15 motos (and yet to make an overall podium) means he and his new team face serious challenge if he wants to take a five-for.

The Coppins Express
At the end of last year when CDR Yamaha’s Josh Coppins lost the MX1 championship by a hair’s breadth, many wondered if the likeable Kiwi had broken a mirror over a black cat earlier in his past life.

Surely one rider can’t have that much bad luck, but it looks like Coppins is on track to make amends for last year’s loss; he’s more consistent than a bout of the runs in Delhi, and the rougher the conditions, the stronger he gets.

As the season progresses, you can expect this steam train to keep gathering momentum and become harder to stop.

Josh Coppins is the man to beat in the MX1 Class for 2012. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Just like the old days
Funny how we look back on the tracks of yesteryear with fond memories, even if they actually had less flow than set concrete, more square edges than Legoland and were dustier than a Bedouin village.

Not so the case in the 2012 MX Nationals – the first half of the season saw the series return to three of our favourite Aussie tracks, including Conondale (Qld), Wonthaggi (Vic) and Wanneroo (WA). These tracks had been off the circuit for between two and five years and everyone was pumped to return to them.

International influence
Wait a second. Since when did the Australian Motocross Championship become such an international drawcard? 2012 has seen the series attract more international riders than ever before.

At last count we had riders from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Sweden contesting out domestic series, and if the rumours are to be believed, there could be an American joining that line-up in the MX1 class very soon. We’ll keep you posted!