Thiago Camarao and Hizunome Bettero move into Round 5 of Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest
Brazil’s Thiago Camarao and Hizunome Bettero put on superb performances to clinch victory in their respective Round 4 (Round of 24) heats of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at
Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Friday, March 16.
The successful result carried both the surfer into the fifth round (Round of 16) of the event. Australia’s David Vlug and Mitch Crews accompanied the winners into the next round after securing runner-up place, whereas South Africa’s Dale Staples and Australia’s
Jack Freestone got eliminated from the contention for the event title after finishing in third place in the seventh and eighth heat respectively.
The surfing conditions prevailing at the primary event site turned out to be quite decent, with the waves lying in the two-foot range. The intensity of the battles increased as the surfers stepped up their efforts while pursuing the highly-appealing winning
prize cheque and coveted ASP rating points that were on offer.
Squaring off with Vlug and Staples in the seventh heat, Camarao put on a phenomenal performance to get his hands on a convincing victory. He got down to business right from the start of the three-man battle and locked his first business-wave to post a 6.50
on the score-board. He went through a series of average-scores before catching his second business-wave to add an additional 8.00 to his account for a heat-total of 14.50 points.
Vlug did not look in the best of forms, but still managed to extend his life in the event by scoring a 4.50 and 5.37 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 9.87 points.
Staples was unable to progress further in the competition after putting on a rather average performance. Scoring a 5.00 and 4.70 off his top-two waves, the South African surfer finished with a heat-total of 9.70 points to settle for third place.
The final heat of Round 4 pitted Bettero against Crews and Freestone in a battle for the Round 5 spot.
Bettero got off to a slow start, but eventually gained momentum to score a 6.93 and 7.83 on the score-board for a heat-total of 14.76 points, which served to earn him the win.
Crews was forced to settle for runner-up place after finishing with a heat-total of 14.13 points, which comprised of a 6.03 and an 8.10-point wave.
Freestone had been in a formidable form since the start of the event, but was unable to make the Round 5 cut after finishing with a heat-total of 14.00 points, scoring a 6.33 and 7.67 off his best-two waves.
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