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Jordy Smith wins Lacanau Pro and retakes ratings lead |
| Sooruz Lacanau Pro 6 Star, US $125 000, ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) men’s event Lacanau, Bordeaux, France 14-19 August 2007 JORDY SMITH WINS LACANAU PRO AND RETAKES RATINGS LEAD South Africa’s surfing sensation Jordy Smith won the first 6 Star rated surfing event of his career in France today and rocketed back into the lead on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings. The 19 year-old from Umbilo in Durban won the R850 000 Sooruz Lacanau Pro by defeating Spanish Basque surfer Aritz Aranburu in the 35-minute final to earn R105 000 and 2 500 ratings points. In testing 1.5 to 2.5 (5-7 foot) messy waves reminiscent of the conditions in which Smith won his first WQS event title in Australia in April, the pair traded the lead until Smith posted an excellent 7.5 point ride (out of 10) at the 12 minute mark. The teenager then shut the door on his more experienced opponent with three minutes remaining by stringing together a repertoire of radical manoeuvres on an overhead wave to earn an outstanding 9.03 points that left Aranburu needing a combination of two rides totaling 16.54 for victory. “I’m just so stoked... I’ve been chasing this victory for the last couple of months,” said Smith, who put an end to a run of three events without a single heat victory by advancing through seven rounds to record victory here. “It’s good to be that close to the Foster’s ASP World Tour,” he said of qualifying to compete on the elite World Tour in 2008. “It’s been on my mind and I’ve done it almost. And I’ll be going for a possible WQS world champion title,” he added with a huge smile on his face. On his way to victory Smith defeated Dayyan Neve in the semis and fellow Aussie and the event’s top point scorer Nic Muscroft in the quarters today. He had a narrow escape yesterday, securing victory over Tahitian Michel Bourez in the last seconds of their last 16 match up. Daniel Redman (Durban) was the only other SA surfer to make the final day of competition, clinching his best result of the year by reaching the quarterfinals before being taken out by Aranburu. Redman placed equal fifth overall and collected R18 500 and 1 625 invaluable ratings points that elevated him 40 place to No. 100 in the WQS rankings. SA’s most experienced World Tour campaigner, Greg Emslie, was eliminated in the round of 24 while fellow East Londoner Royden Bryson went out in the round of 48 and David Weare was ousted in the round of 96 for the second event in a row. Those results see Smith vault from fourth to first on the WQS ratings after 24 of the 46 events have been completed. Weare drops from 13th to 17th, Bryson from 28th to 31st and Emslie rises from 56th to 44th as this event saw him complete his full quota of seven counting scores. The next event on the WQS is the Super Series rated, R1 million Rip Curl Pro, which offers the winner a massive 3 000 ratings points at Hossegor, 150 Kms south of Lacanau on the Bay of Biscay coast of France, starting on Monday ASP World Qualifying Ratings (after Lacanau – event No. 24 of 46) Top 15 at yearend qualify for Foster’s ASP World Tour in 2008 1 Smith,Jordy ZAF 12200 2 Pires,Tiago PRT 11900 3 Bourgeois,Ben USA 11688 4 Thompson,Jay AUS 11225 5 Khodr,Jihad BRA 10875 6 Alves,Heitor BRA 10400 7 Reynolds,Dane USA 10038 8 Padaratz,Neco BRA 9963 9 Aranburu,Aritz EUK 9957 10 Flintoff,Kirk AUS 9675 South Africans in the top 200 (of 785) 17 Weare,David ZAF 8963 31 Bryson,Royden ZAF 8051 44 Emslie,Greg ZAF 7150 57 Fahrenfort,Damien ZAF 6315 72 Wright,Warwick ZAF 5382 75 Bortoletto,Antonio ZAF 5326 95 Roberts,Gavin ZAF 4675 100 Redman,Daniel ZAF 4488 147 Basnett,Ricky ZAF 3289 168 Richards,David ZAF 2675 175 Stone,Dylan ZAF 2539 177 Palmboom,Rudy (jnr) ZAF 2526 183 Pearce,Reubin ZAF 2425 196 Gravett,Clinton ZAF 2129 /ends Issued on behalf of: ASP Africa Contact: Colin Fitch – Operations Manager Tel: 021 534 5738 Email: aspafrica@mweb.co.za Compiled & Issued by: Life's a Beach Communications PO Box 48272, Kommetjie 7976, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 21 783 4965 Fax: +27 (0) 86 684 6250 Mobile: +27 (0) 82 423 1964 Email: lifesabeach@mweb.co.za About ASP: The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is the governing body of professional surfing. Crowning surfing’s undisputed world champions since 1976, the ASP sanctions the following tours: the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour, the ASP Women’s World Tour, the World Qualifying Series (WQS) and the World Longboarding, Junior and Masters Championships. The ASP is dedicated to showcasing the world's best surfing talent in a variety of progressive formats and has revolutionized the way the world watches surfing via their webcasts. The organization is divided into seven different regions: Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South America. These regions manage all their respective domestic affairs under the guidance of ASP International, which is located on the Gold Coast of Australia. |
| Date: 19 Aug 07 |