2012 promised so much for Metal Mulisha Serco Yamaha’s Luke Styke, but as the New Year rolled around it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

MotoOnline.com.au caught up with the bloke while he tested his mettle at the AIS and found he’s hungrier than ever as 2013 rolls in.

Luke Styke was a standout for Serco Yamaha during the 2012 season.

How’s everything going at the AIS, mate? Are they pushing you?

Yeah it’s been awesome so far. I’m here with my trainer to try and fine tune my program and learn more about nutrition and the training side of things. There’s a really good atmosphere here and I’m hoping to take a few things away that I can apply to this season.

There’s a good crew here too – Lawson Bopping, Cody Mackie, Chris Hollis, Toby Price and few up-and-coming MXD and off-road riders are here too working with Stephen Gall and Chris Urquhart. It’s going to be a pretty intense week, but I’m looking forward to it.

You’re just coming off a broken wrist after crashing out of the supercross. How’s the recovery travelling?

I crashed out at Phillip Island and broke the radius and ulna bones straight across. The scaphoid was OK, thank God. Simon from RACESAFE referred me to a great specialist and we had surgery straight after Phillip Island.

It was pretty disappointing to get injured – I had my heart set on winning, but it it’s part of the sport and it was actually good to take some time out and reflect on the year. Me and my girlfriend went to Hawaii and had a vacation and I had a good six to eight weeks off the bike.

You’ve been pretty lucky with injuries really. I guess everyone’s luck runs out eventually in this sport.

Yeah I haven’t had many broken bones, but like everyone, there’s always some niggling training injury you’re carrying during a season. I just don’t speak about them or use them as an excuse. I like to keep everyone guessing!

I’m ready to get back into it now though. I lost strength and conditioning both overall and in my wrist, but I’ve been back on the bike for three weeks and I’m starting to slowly get back into it. Serco gave me a YZ450F to ride for now.

Being a heavier bike it’s been good to help build strength and establish a good base to start working from.

Styke is a pre-season favourite for this year’s MX2 title outdoors.

So if you’re riding a 450 at the moment I guess you haven’t done much testing yet?

Nah we haven’t done much yet. We start testing in earnest in early February. Because there’s not much difference between the 2012 and 2013 bikes we’re already a step ahead of where we were last year, but we’re always truing to get more horsepower out of the engine.

We’ve got a really good base setting and Michael Marty has a few new bits and pieces for us to try out. He’s excited to get the ball rolling and get things going before the first round of the Sunny State titles.

Your new teammate, Luke Clout, picked up his first senior win at the Coffs Harbour Stadiumcross on the weekend. What do you think of his pace?

Me and Luke have been riding a fair bit together out at Appin and he’s got some really good raw speed. He’s young, keen, and is going to be a great asset for Serco. He spent three years at the Millsaps Training Facility in the US, so he’s obviously learnt a lot. He’s come to terms with the base bike and is loving it. I think he could surprise a few people this year.

Well as long as he finishes behind you, that’s all that matters, right?

[Laughs] yeah, that’s it!

Thanks for the chat, mate. All the best for the pre-season testing.

Thanks bud. Speak to you soon.