Image: Foremost Media.

Former national motocross champion and dual AORC E1 title holder Luke Styke is confident he’ll bring a competitive pace in his return to the 2020 MXstore MX Nationals in the MX2 category.

Styke, who transitioned from motocross to off-road racing in 2018, will race the opening rounds of the six-stop, nine-round series, with hopes of completing the championship in its entirety.

The New South Welshman admits his pace in motocross is still there, as the discipline still plays a role in his training, while he believes it will take the first rounds for him to get back up to speed in the MX Nationals environment.

The number 26 will pilot a Yamaha YZ250F prepared by his AORC team, Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing, who will also provide him support at the rounds he attends.

“I don’t think my pace has changed since I was racing motocross, and I still ride a fair bit of motocross,” Styke told MotoOnline.com.au. “I ride with guys who are competing up front, and my pace is very similar to there’s – I feel I’m going to be up front week in, week out.

“It’s just going to be adapting quickly to the motocross scene with motos and that kind of thing. My speed will definitely be fine – I feel carrying a pretty high pace in the bush transfers well on the motocross track.

“I think the speed will be fine, but this pre-season, I would’ve liked to have gotten more out of my body, but I picked up a few little niggling injuries coming into the first round of AORC, which put me back a couple of weeks. I think I’ll build through Horsham, and by round three I’ll be swinging.”

Styke dominantly won the MX2 title in 2013 with Serco Yamaha before campaigning in the MX2 World Championship the following season on Yamaha machinery. He returned home in 2015, where he contested the premier class with the former KTM Motocross Racing Team until switching to the off-road scene in 2018.