Success in Round 2 takes Ian Gouveia and Joan Duru into Round 3 of Burton Toyota Pro – Surfing News
Brazil’s Ian Gouveia and France’s Joan Duru moved into the third round (Round of 48) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest after prevailing in their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats at Merewether Point in New South Wales, Australia, on Wednesday, March 14.
South Africa’s Dale Staples and Brazil’s Hizunome Bettero successfully extended their life in the event as well due to their runner-up finish in the 17th and 18th heat respectively.
The two-to-three foot waves breaking at the event site did not exactly make ideal surfing conditions, though the surfers found themselves with sufficient opportunities to score big, though detecting the waves on time and getting in position to catch them depended entirely on their skills and to some extent luck.
The 17th heat of Round 2 turned out to be a pretty low-scoring heat with neither of the surfers having a lot of luck with the waves. However, Gouveia managed to collect a 4.00 and 5.13 off his best-two waves to move to a heat-total of 9.13 points. The score turned out to be a decisive one to earn him the win.
Staples finished less than a point behind Gouveia after opening his account with a 5.33-point wave and backing it up with a 3.27-point wave for a heat-total of 8.60 points.
South Africa’s Travis Logie was forced to settle for an 8.44-point wave, which included a 4.67 and 3.77-point wave. Australia’s Brent Dorrington rounded out the bottom position after scoring a heat-total of 6.93 points. Both the surfers were consequently removed from the race for the event title.
The 18th heat turned out to be an action-packed affair as Duru and Bettero took each other on in an intense battle.
The Frenchman opened his account with a 7.67-point wave to take an early lead, but Bettero remained right on his heels by posting a 6.17 on the score-board.
The Brazilian surfer locked an impressive 7.53-point wave to move to a heat-total of 13.70 points, grabbing the lead. Pushed against the edge, Duru managed to reclaim the lead in the dying minutes of the heat by scoring a 6.33 off his second business-wave that took his heat-total to 14.00 points.
Portugal’s Vasco Ribeiro and America’s Chris Ward were eliminated from the contention for the event-title after finishing with a heat-total of 10.00 and 8.93-point wave.
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