Kiwi Rider July Vol.2 2023 | Page 31

thereby handing the premier ‘ outright ’ title to McBreen . When the dust had settled at Martinborough , McBreen had also won battle-within-a-battle for the over-200cc two-stroke class title , finishing ahead of Whitianga ’ s fellow KTM star James Kerr and New Plymouth ’ s Josh Houghton ( Husqvarna ). Even with Watts relegated to overall runnerup at Martinborough , it was still easily enough for him to take top honours in the under-200cc two-stroke and under-300cc four-stroke class title , Watts finishing ahead of Nelson ’ s Bailey Basalaj ( Honda ) and Hamilton ’ s Liam Calley ( Beta ) in that separate battle . For the record , Basalaj had finished the championships third overall ( regardless of bike class ), behind McBreen and Watts , followed by New Plymouth ’ s Sam Parker ( Husqvarna ) and then Kerr . Unable to complete his campaign ,
Nelson ’ s Bailey Basalaj finished 3rd overall
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