The popular Motomuck Junior 90-minute race was held in forestry just north of Taupo on Saturday, the curtain-raiser to the equally-popular Acerbis Four-Hour.

The Motomuck 90 was won by Taupo’s Warren Bartlett (KTM 125 EXC), with Cambridge’s Taylor Grey (KTM 200 XC) finishing runner-up and Tauranga’s Reuben Steens (Yamaha YZ125) taking third step on the podium.

Palmerston North’s James Galpin (Husaberg TE125) and Gisborne’s Duncan Summerfield (KTM 150 XCW) rounded out the top five in the Motomuck Junior 90.

The 16-year-old Bartlett (pictured here) had a poor start, his bike not firing up on the first kick, and he had to fight through traffic to reach the front, although he remarkably did that after just one lap, passing Grey within sight of the pits at the end of lap one.

“I was dancing from tree to tree,” said Bartlett.

“I didn’t even know I’d taken the lead until dad told me.”

Bartlett rode exactly the same 2012-model bike to finish fourth overall in the junior race last year.

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Here’s a clip from the start of the Motomuck 90 junior cross-country race …

The Senior Acerbis Four-Hour race that followed immediately after the Motomuck 90 was won by Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Action Suzuki RM-Z450).

Riding alone, as an ironman competitor, he still managed to eclipse national cross-country champion Adrian Smith (Blackwood BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ250) and his team-mate, Titirangi’s Callan May (Kiwi Rider BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ250F), although it was very tight at the finish with Groombridge winning by less than a minute.

Here’s a small clip from the senior Acerbis Four-hour …