Thiago Camarao and Richard Christie power into Round 3 of Burton Toyota Pro at Newcastle’s Surfest
Brazil’s Thiago Camarao and New Zealand’s Richard Christie walked away with top honours from the 21st and 22nd heat of Round 2 (Round of 96) respectively during Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star Burton Toyota Pro that
continued at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, March 15.
With their latest success, both the surfers advanced through into the third round (Round of 48) of the event. Australia’s David Vlug and America’s Nathaniel Curran accompanied them into the next round after taking runner-up positions in the 21st
and 22nd heat respectively.
The world’s best surfers found themselves tested in shapely two-to-three foot waves breaking at the primary event site Thursday. With an opportunity to get their hands on a handsome prize cheque and coveted ASP rating points, the surfers found no reason
to hold back as they took each other on in four-man battles.
Squaring off with Vlug, French Polynesia’s Alain Riou and Brazil’s Ricardo Ferreira in the 21st heat, Camarao got off to a patient start, but began his charge upon reaching the half-way stage. The Brazilian surfer locked his first business-wave
to post a 7.23 on the score-board and soon backed it up with a 7.33-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.56 points.
Vlug finished just behind Camarao on the score-board with a heat-total of 13.00 points, which included a 7.67 and 5.33-point wave.
Despite an impressive start with a 7.17 off his first business-wave, Riou failed to make it into the next round after only managing to add an additional 4.20 points to his account, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 11.37 points.
Ferreira also saw the event come to a premature end for him after finishing in fourth place with a heat-total of 9.17 points.
The 22nd heat pitted Christie against Curran, Brazil’s Tomas Hermes and Australia’s Cahill Bell-Warren in a four-way battle for the Round 3 spot.
The Kiwi surfer got off to an impressive start, scoring a 6.60 off his first business-wave. He kept the momentum going and managed to add an additional 6.20 points to his account for a heat-total of 12.80 points.
Curran made the Round 3 cut as well due to his runner-up finish that he clinched through his heat-total of 12.34 points, which included a 4.67 and 7.67-point wave.
Hermes barely missed out on earning a place in the next round after finishing with a heat-total of 12.33 points, 0.01 behind that of Curran’s .Bell-Warren rounded out the bottom position after earning a couple of scores in the five-point range for a heat-total
of 10.53 points.
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