Manuel Selman and Jay Thompson power into Round 2 of Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest
Chile’s Manuel Selman and Australia’s Jay Thompson emerged triumphant in their Round 1 (Round of 144) heats of the 6-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued to deliver exciting surfing action
at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Monday, March 12.
The successful result carried both Selman and Thompson into Round 2 (Round of 96) of the competition. Japanese surfer Teppei Tajima and Brazil’s Andre Silva also confirmed their place in the second round after clinching runner-up positions in the fifth and
sixth heat respectively.
The latest ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) series comprised of a large field of surfers from around the globe, competing to get their hands on the coveted prize cheque as well as the ASP rating points that were on offer. Their determination led them to
give it their all in testing three-foot waves that were on offer at the primary event site on day 1 of the competition.
Selman adapted quite exceptionally to the conditions during the fifth heat of Round 1 as he faced-off with Tajima, Australia’s Blake Thornton and America’s Clary Marzo.
The Chilean surfer went down to business right from the start of the heat, posting a 7.90 on the score-board in the opening minutes of the heat to put his rivals under pressure. He backed it up with a 7.43-point wave in the dying minutes of the battle to
finish with a decisive heat-total of 15.33 points.
Tajima put on a decent performance as well, scoring a 6.33 and 4.50 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 10.83 points. His efforts earned him the runner-up place to carry him through into the next round.
Thornton and Marzo got eliminated from the event after finishing with a heat-total of 9.63 and 9.16 points respectively.
The sixth heat featured an exciting battle between Thompson and Silva that went down to the wire. The Brazilian surfer opened his account with a 5.67-point wave moments after the showdown started, but Thompson managed to edge past him with a 6.67 off his
first business-wave.
The lead changed hands as Silva added a 5.93 to his account, moving to a heat-total of 11.60 points with just a few minutes left in the heat. Pushed against the wall, Thompson stepped up under pressure to lock his second business-wave in the dying minutes
of the heat, scoring a 6.20 off it to eventually clinch the win through a heat-total of 12.87 points.
Australia’s Nick Riley and Germany’s Marlon Lipke were also participating in the four-man battle, though they hardly made their presence felt. While the local talent finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.76 points, Lipke rounded out the last position
with a two-wave total of 8.30 points. Both the surfers were consequently eliminated from the competition.
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