Luke Styke maintains a positive attitude after barely missing out on the 2012 MX2 championship. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

After a down to the wire finish to the 2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals MX2 championship, eventual runner-up Luke Styke is gracious in defeat after a hard-fought battle.

The Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha rider held the MX2 championship lead from round two in Coonabarabran to round nine at Moree, before disaster struck.

Mechanical issues in multiple motos at Moree saw Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ford Dale take advantage of Styke’s misfortune and take control of the points chase.

Styke and Dale took it to the final moto of the day at Coolum’s season finale, where Dale was able to snatch the title away by just two points from Styke.

“The day went alright,” Styke told MotoOnline. “Yesterday I struggled a little bit in qualifying, but today it was a new me and I had a realistic goal just to ride the best I can and to win races really. Whatever happened behind me, happened.

“But overall the weekend was good, I got second overall for the day and second overall for the championship.”

Styke maintains a positive outlook and will now look towards carrying his momentum into the upcoming Australian Supercross Championship.

“I’m a bit bummed out that I didn’t get the championship win,” Styke added. “But we’ve just got to carry the good results into supercross. Just get good results in that and keep moving forward.

Watch for Styke to come out with all guns blazing when the Australian Supercross Championship kicks off at Dubbo in New South Wales on 13 October.