Jordy Smith and Owen Wright off to an ideal start at Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Surfing News
South Africa’s Jordy Smith and Australia’s Owen Wright kicked-off the latest stop of the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, with an ideal result in their respective Round 1 heats that went down at Bells
Beach in Victoria, Australia, on April 3.
Smith took the win in the first heat by getting the better of Australia’s Kieren Perrow and Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia to advance directly into the third round, pushing both his rivals into the relegation Round 2 in the process.
The second heat saw Wright jump into the third round after prevailing over America’s Patrick Gudauskas and Australia’s Bede Durbidge, who rounded out the second and third place respectively to find themselves relegated to the second round.
Resuming their campaign for the coveted ASP World Title, the best surfers from around the world battled each other in clean three-to-four foot waves, determined to get a solid start and build momentum.
The 24-year-old Smith put on a superb performance in the opening heat of the competition, putting his stylish skills on display in what turned out to be wave-starved conditions.
Catching his first business-wave, the South African surfer posted a 6.83 on the score-board and went on to back it up with an impressive 8.77-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 15.60 points. The score kept him in lead until the end to carry him through
into Round 3.
“It was rough out there,” Smith said. “Kieren [Perrow] and Freddy [Patacchia] started up the point at Rincon and I started in the Bowl which didn’t work out for me. It really boiled down to the last few minutes with one set and I had to make the most of
it. Happy to be back at Bells and the swell looks good for the week so hopefully we get some more consistent conditions.”
Perrow finished in second place with a heat-total of 12.10 points, whereas Patacchia collected a 4.00 and 7.17-point ride to finish with a heat-total of 11.17 points. Both the surfers were consequently forced to take a trip to Round 2 to have one more shot
at staying alive in the contention for the event-title.
The second heat featured an outstanding performance by Wright, the young Australian stand out who shone quite brightly during the previous season of the World Tour.
The 22-year-old Australian made his sensational form apparent with a 9.00 and 8.93-point ride, finishing with a heat-total of 17.93 to walk away with the win.
The 26-year-old Gudauskas finished in second place with a heat-total of 14.97 points, which included a 6.20 and an 8.77-point wave, while Durbidge rounded out the third position after finishing with a heat-total of 13.50 points. Both the surfers were consequently
relegated to Round 2.
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