diff --git a/config/crd/bases/exp.infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_azuremanagedcontrolplanes.yaml b/config/crd/bases/exp.infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_azuremanagedcontrolplanes.yaml
index 12a7e49b51a..90961207d5a 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/exp.infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_azuremanagedcontrolplanes.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/exp.infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_azuremanagedcontrolplanes.yaml
@@ -107,7 +107,6 @@ spec:
               version:
                 description: Version defines the desired Kubernetes version.
                 minLength: 2
-                pattern: ^v(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)([-0-9a-zA-Z_\.+]*)?$
                 type: string
             required:
             - defaultPoolRef
diff --git a/exp/api/v1alpha3/azuremanagedcontrolplane_types.go b/exp/api/v1alpha3/azuremanagedcontrolplane_types.go
index 79e5fe022b3..2a5474d64c1 100644
--- a/exp/api/v1alpha3/azuremanagedcontrolplane_types.go
+++ b/exp/api/v1alpha3/azuremanagedcontrolplane_types.go
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import (
 type AzureManagedControlPlaneSpec struct {
 	// Version defines the desired Kubernetes version.
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:MinLength:=2
-	// +kubebuilder:validation:Pattern:=^v(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)([-0-9a-zA-Z_\.+]*)?$
 	Version string `json:"version"`
 
 	// ResourceGroup is the name of the Azure resource group for this AKS Cluster.
diff --git a/exp/controllers/azuremanagedmachinepool_reconciler.go b/exp/controllers/azuremanagedmachinepool_reconciler.go
index 1911415d0bb..8a3b37e1f37 100644
--- a/exp/controllers/azuremanagedmachinepool_reconciler.go
+++ b/exp/controllers/azuremanagedmachinepool_reconciler.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package controllers
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-go/services/compute/mgmt/2020-06-01/compute"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
@@ -54,13 +55,20 @@ func newAzureManagedMachinePoolReconciler(scope *scope.ManagedControlPlaneScope)
 // Reconcile reconciles all the services in pre determined order
 func (r *azureManagedMachinePoolReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, scope *scope.ManagedControlPlaneScope) error {
 	scope.Logger.Info("reconciling machine pool")
+
+	var normalizedVersion *string
+	if scope.MachinePool.Spec.Template.Spec.Version != nil {
+		v := strings.TrimPrefix(*scope.MachinePool.Spec.Template.Spec.Version, "v")
+		normalizedVersion = &v
+	}
+
 	agentPoolSpec := &agentpools.Spec{
 		Name:          scope.InfraMachinePool.Name,
 		ResourceGroup: scope.ControlPlane.Spec.ResourceGroup,
 		Cluster:       scope.ControlPlane.Name,
 		SKU:           scope.InfraMachinePool.Spec.SKU,
 		Replicas:      1,
-		Version:       scope.MachinePool.Spec.Template.Spec.Version,
+		Version:       normalizedVersion,
 	}
 
 	if scope.InfraMachinePool.Spec.OSDiskSizeGB != nil {
diff --git a/exp/controllers/helpers.go b/exp/controllers/helpers.go
index 3244b38a43b..b7310973cee 100644
--- a/exp/controllers/helpers.go
+++ b/exp/controllers/helpers.go
@@ -174,6 +174,11 @@ func AzureManagedClusterToAzureManagedControlPlaneMapper(c client.Client, log lo
 			return nil
 		}
 
+		if cluster == nil {
+			log.Error(err, "cluster has not set owner ref yet")
+			return nil
+		}
+
 		ref := cluster.Spec.ControlPlaneRef
 		if ref == nil || ref.Name == "" {
 			return nil