SOUTH AFRICANS TUMBLE WHILE TOP SEEDS ADVANCEDURBAN, South Africa (Friday, 6 July, 2007) – Small messy surf and a potent international field resulted in a bad day for the South African surfers competing in the Men’s Round of 48, at the 6-Star Mr Price Pro, currently underway at Durban’s New Pier.
Former ASP World Tour campaigner David Weare (Morningside) and ASP Africa wildcard Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh) outshone their fellow compatriots with committed surfing that saw them advance in second respectively.
Taking a definitive Round of 96 victory on Thursday, Weare maintained his stylish form against top seed Tom Whittaker (Aus), who snatched an early lead with an excellent 8.67 (out of a possible ten) ride, backing it up with a 4.67 to win the heat.
Hunting down second, Weare opened his account with a perfectly executed aerial reverse to earn a 7.67, edging out his Brazilian rival Simao Romao and early event standout Shaun Payne (St Francis), both surfers eliminated from the event.
“It`s been a tough couple of days for the South Africans, so I`m stoked to make it through. Even if I just sneak through in second place for the next few heats that`s fine,” Weare said.
Gavin Roberts surfed superbly against WQS No. 8 Dane Reynolds (USA), his impeccable wave selection and fiery performance, earning him a 7.00 and 5.17 to take an early heat lead. With four minutes on the clock, Reynolds caught a great right hander, executing a series of off the tops and a quick aerial, to score 7.33 and assume the heat lead from Roberts who finished in second.
“This is my best result this year; I`m really stoked to make it through. That was a tough heat but in these conditions it`s really about getting the right waves,” Roberts said.
The rest of the South African contingent was not as fortunate with World No. 33 Royden Bryson (East London) defeated by WQS No. 15 Jay Thomson (Aus) in Heat 4, Warwick Wright (Durban) eliminated by Sterling Spencer (Aus), Leonardo Neves and former ASP World Champion CJ Hobgood in Heat 5, Antonio Bortoletto (Durban) bowing out to Neco Padaratz (Brazil) and Heitor Alvez (Brazil) in Heat 6 and Travis Logie (Durban) trampled by Jeremy Flores (France) and Pablo Paulino (Brazil) in Heat 12.
Aerial maestro Josh Kerr (Aus) was up to his usual antics, bringing life to the miserable surf with a giant frontside aerial earning him an excellent 8.33. Brazil’s Jihad Khodr answered back with 8.0 but could not find the back up score he needed and was forced to settle for second.
World No. 32 Adriano de Souza (Brazil) was another force to be reckoned with in Heat 9, the young futuristic surfer reveling in the waves similar to those of his home break, earning a solid victory over Ola Eleogram (Haw), Luke Munro (Aus) and Asher Nolan (USA).
WQS No. 5 Kirk Flintoff (Aus), WQS No. 2 Tiago Pires (Portugal) and WQS No. 3 Aritz Aranburu (Spain) found themselves in a ‘ding-dong’ battle, the three surfers finishing 1st to 3rd respectively with less than a point separating them.
In another exceptionally close heat, Brazilians Heitor Alvez and Neco Padaratz finished tie 1st, with Alvez taking the win thanks to a higher scoring first ride.
The final heat of the day saw World No. 12 Jeremy Flores (France) tear apart the small surf with speed and precision despite surfing a bigger board more suited to larger more powerful waves of Jeffrey’s Bay, where he will be competing next week.
“I didn`t think these boards would work out so I`m stoked with how it went. I don`t have a quiver here for these kinds of conditions!” Flores said after defeating Patrick Bevan (France), simultaneously edging out Travis Logie (Durban) and Pablo Paulino (Brazil).
Tomorrow sees the Finals of the 5-Star WQS Women’s event at approximately 15h35 while the Men’s Final takes place on Sunday at 14h15.
The Mr Price Pro forms part of the Durban Beach Festival and is being broadcast live on the webcast at www.mrpricepro.com.
