The man is fast, reliable and versatile ... and so too is his powerful 450cc bike.

Fresh from racing at the Waikato Motocross Championships a week ago, Oparau's James Scott jumped off his trusty Honda CRF250 motocross bike and wheeled out one of the innovative Honda CRF450RX enduro bikes to race the opening round of the New Zealand Cross-country Championships near Marton on Sunday, and what a sight that was.

The 20-year-old South Waikato sheep and beef farm worker led Sunday's gruelling three-hour senior race virtually from start to finish, eclipsing Wairoa's defending national cross-country champion Tommy Watts and last year's junior cross-country champion Wil Yeoman, from Taupo, in the six-lap affair.

Scott took the chequered flag by just over a minute ahead of Watts and he finished two minutes ahead of third-placed rider Yeoman.

Although the insanely-talented Scott has dabbled in other motorcycling codes – including a brief stint last year racing the World Enduro Championships in Europe – he is more at home on a motocross track, but such is the versatility of the Honda man and his bike, that he made the transition look ridiculously easy on Sunday.

"It was good to get into the lead early because I knew it was going to get dusty. My plan was just to keep it steady at the start of the race and then maybe pick up the pace at the end," he said.

"I could see Tommy (Watts) reeling me in at one stage, so I just lifted the pace to respond to that. We were only five seconds apart at one point, but I finished the race a minute in front.

"This bike has a bigger tank than my motocross bike, but I could still only do two laps today before I needed to refuel. Thankfully, it was the same for my rivals too," Scott explained.

"The bike is stock standard, with no modifications, so I was pretty pleased with how it all worked out really. I might just stiffen up the suspension settings before the next round though. It was a bit too soft today.

"With no national motocross events on the horizon, this might be the title I chase this season," he laughed.

Meanwhile, in the 90-minute junior race that was staged earlier in the day, Cambridge's Jared Hannon was the winner, finishing ahead of Pukekawa's Tyler Brown, with New Plymouth's Josh Houghton completing the junior podium.

The next two rounds follow closely together, with round two set for farmland near Pahiatua on Saturday, April 16, and round three near Dannevirke just two days later, on Easter Monday, April 18. The venue for the fourth and final round on Saturday, May 14 is yet to be confirmed.

Points from only the best three results from the four rounds will be counted towards the championship titles, with riders to discard their worst result, ensuring the contest will go down to the wire.

NZ Cross-Country Championship Times:

Round One – Sunday, February 27 – Bush Riders MCC, Marton

Round Two – Saturday, April 16 – Bush Riders MCC, Pahiatua

Round Three – Monday, April 18 – Central Hawke's Bay MCC, Dannevirke

Round Four – Saturday, May 14 – Host club and venue to be decided

- Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com