Experience is always a huge advantage in top national-level sport, but the rising young stars of motocross racing have shown they are quick learners indeed.

The distinctive red Honda contingent seemed to have a mortgage on young talent at the weekend, with so many of their riders aged under 20 shining out among the gunk and gloom at the tricky rain-drenched course south of Pukekohe on Saturday.

The popular hillside venue at Harrisville hosted the third round of four in the 2024 New Zealand Motocross Championships and results achieved in treacherous conditions of Saturday may well prove pivotal in terms of title ambitions.

Motul Honda Racing Team rider Jack Treloar again managed to finish third overall, behind experienced international riders Hamish Harwood (from West Auckland) and Jed Beaton (Australia) in the premier MX1 class, for 450cc bike racers.

The 20-year-old MX1 class rookie from Invercargill finished 3-5-4 in his three outings on Saturday and he ended the weekend third overall.

Treloar has now consolidated his position in the championship overall and seems destined to stand on the podium at the end of this season, his first campaign in the premier MX1 class.

“It was always my goal to finish among the top five. But I’m actually doing so well that a podium finish is now likely.

“I was a little bit out of my comfort zone in the slippery conditions at Pukekohe, but I rode sensibly and not over my head. This bike has so much power that it’s easy to get out of shape if you’re not careful, especially in the mud,” said Treloar.

“It has been a fantastic season so far for me,” says the young dairy farmer, who says he will be transitioning into a career as a builder in the coming months.

New Plymouth’s Rian King, riding for the Crown Kiwi Alpinestars Honda Race Team, also stunned with his performances in the senior MX2 category on Saturday, finishing close behind established stars James Scott, from Oparau, visiting Australian Caleb Ward and 40-year-old defending multi-time MX2 and MX1 champion Cody Cooper, from Opotiki.

The 18-year-old Rian King, the youngest son of former Honda star Shayne King, the 1996 500cc world champion, proved not to be overawed by his more experienced rivals and was happy to finish the weekend fourth overall in the MX2 class, just four points behind Cooper.

“I really wanted a podium finish, but I was struggling a bit with the track and couldn’t maintain a flow,” says Rian King.

He finished ahead of fellow Honda heroes Cobie Bourke, from Tauranga, his own elder brother Curtis King and Invercargill’s Jack Symon – this trio finishing fifth, sixth and seventh overall respectively – thus making it four Honda riders in the top seven at Pukekohe.

King also now shares the class lead with Symon in the battle-within-a-battle for under-19 honours.

Meanwhile, for Motul Honda Racing Team rider Bourke to achieve as well as he has is remarkable too.

The 19-year-old Bourke has suffered two years of injuries and his build-up to this 2024 season began late with his first training sessions on the bike only starting in December.

“I was still on the sofa at home while my rivals were working on their fitness, so this is really a building year for me. But, for me to be on the pace now is quite satisfying and things can only improve from here,” says Bourke.

The fourth and final round of the national series is set for just over two weeks’ time, on the outskirts of New Plymouth, on April 13.

-By Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com