Owen Wright and Josh Kerr survive Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Surfing News
Australia’s Owen Wright and his fellow country person Josh Kerr emerged triumphant in their respective Round 3 heats of Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach that went down at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Thursday, April 5.
Wright took down Brazil’s Jadson Andre in the third heat to confirm his place in the fourth heat, consequently bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
The fourth heat saw Kerr get the better of Portugal’s Tiago Pires in the fourth heat to advance through into the fourth round while removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
The crowd got to witness intense surfing battles between the top surfers from around the globe who were determined to improve their ranking on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Rankings. The demanding surfing conditions prevailing
at the event site made the contest even more gripping, keeping the crowd guessing until the end.
Squaring off with Andre in the third heat, the 22-year-old Wright put on an impressive performance to eventually walk away with the win.
The Australian surfer put his local knowledge of the waves to use, collecting a 5.17 off his first business-wave. After a long and determined hunt, he locked his second business-wave in the final minutes of the heat to give it his all. The last-minute effort
allowed him to add an impressive 8.60 to his account to move him to a heat-total of 13.77 points.
Andre had little luck with the waves during the 30-minute wave and only managed to score a 6.17 and 1.00 off them to finish with a heat-total of 7.17 points. The lacklustre performance led to his elimination from the competition.
Kerr took the win in the fourth win after getting the better of Pires through an exquisite performance.
The Australian surfer got off to a modest start, finding a series of average scores. However, he stepped up in the final minutes of the battle to collect a 7.00 and 8.17-point ride, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 15.17 points.
Pires responded with a really weak performance for a heat-total of 9.07 points, which included a 3.50 and 5.57 points. This resulted in his elimination from the competition while sending Kerr into the next round.
Tags: