| Outstanding Bede Durbidge kicking the Rip Curl Pro |
| Thursday, 31 July 2008 09:13 |
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The 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search returned to its primary venue, ‘somewhere’ in Indonesia, today for Round 2 of competition which saw top seeds dominated the pulsing six-foot (2 metre) lefthanders before conditions deteriorated in the early afternoon. Stop No. 6 of 11 on the 2008 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search saw the elimination of 10 surfers today before inconsistency forced event organizers to call competition off for the day. Bede Durbidge (AUS), current ASP World No. 3, bested lethal wildcard Owen Wright this morning in one of the more incendiary heats of the day. Wright secured an incredible forehand barrel for an impressive 9.63 out of a possible 10 only to have Durbidge answer immediately with a 9.63 of his own for a deep tuberide followed by two powerful backhand blasts. “Owen (Wright) got that incredible barrel right in front of me and I thought I was done,” Durbidge said. “Then that sick one came through and I just held my rail as long as I could and it let me out and I got the score – I was so stoked.” Durbidge, who finished 5th on the ASP World Tour last year, has remained a contender in 2008, putting up excellent results to maintain his current No. 3 position. “I’ve had a really good year and I’ve been able to stay really consistent,” Durbidge said. “I had a bit of a slip up in Tahiti, but the rest of the year has been good for me. It’s great to be here in Indonesia and the waves have been really good. Hopefully I can put up another good result.” Bobby Martinez (USA), current No. 9 on the ASP World Tour, put on an impressive tube-riding display this morning, eliminating dangerous wildcard, and the only other surfer to win an ASP World Tour event in 2008, Bruno Santos (BRA). “Bruno (Santos) is really dangerous in these kinds of waves,” Martinez said. “In barreling lefthanders, he knows what to do. It’s not as easy as it looks out there, but there are still some incredible barrels and I am happy to get through the heat.” Adrian Buchan (AUS), current No. 10 on the ASP World Tour, was another goofy-footer to excel in today’s conditions, netting and impressive 17.90 out of a possible 20 to eliminate 2008 rookie Dan Ross (AUS) from Rip Curl Pro Search competition. “I love it here – it’s like a third home for me,” Buchan said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid with my family and the waves are so good. It’s phenomenal out there and we’ve been fortunate enough to have really good waves so far so I’m pumped.” Rip Curl Pro Search event organizers will reconvene tomorrow at 7am for a possible 7:30am start. Surfline, official forecasters for the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search, are calling for the Southwest swell to continue to through tonight and tomorrow before a new swell fills in tomorrow night. When competition recommences, Dane Reynolds (USA) and Daniel Wills (AUS) will be first up in Heat 11 of Round 2. The event will be webcast LIVE via http://live.ripcurl.com/ RIP CURL PRO SEARCH ROUND 2 RESULTS REMAINING RIP CURL PRO SEARCH ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS
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