Adrien Toyon and Gony Zubizarreta prevail in Round 1 of Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest
Reunion Island’s Adrien Toyon and Spain’s Gony Zubizarreta claimed top honours in their respective Round 1 (Round of 144) heats of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest which continued to deliver thrilling
action at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Monday, March 12.
The successful heats carried both Toyon and Zubizarreta into the second round (Round of 96) of the event. South Africa’s David Van Zyl and Australia’s Leigh Sedley also advanced through into the next round of the competition after securing runner-up place
in the ninth and tenth heat respectively.
The opening day of the latest event of the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) saw tricky three-foot waves breaking at the event site, giving surfers ample opportunity to showcase their stylish skills in promising conditions.
Toyon remained the most prominent surfer in the ninth heat of Round 1. Even though the affair turned out to be a low-scoring one, the Reunion Island surfer managed to score a 5.17 off his first business-wave and backed it up with a 3.90-point wave to finish
with a heat-total of 9.07 points. The score held up through the course of the four-man battle to eventually earn him victory.
Van Zyl extended his life in the event as well by finishing with a heat-total of 8.47 points, which included a 3.87 and 4.60-point wave.
Portugal’s Frederico Morais and Hawaii’s Ian Gentil finished in third and fourth place respectively, with the former scoring a heat-total of 8.13 points while the latter finishing with a heat-total of 6.53 points.
The 10th heat saw Zubizarreta put on an impressive performance to get the better of the local talent Sedley, America’s Luke Davis and Brazil’s Andre Teixeira.
The Spaniard locked his first business-wave half-way through the heat to post a 5.07 on the score-board and managed to add an additional 8.27 points to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 13.34 points to walk away with a convincing win.
Sedley finished in runner-up place with a heat-total of 10.67 points, which included a 5.17 and 5.50-point wave.
Davis and Teixeira finished with a heat-total of 8.20 and 6.60 points respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
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