HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Sunday, August 10, 2008) The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour has crossed the halfway point in the 2008 season with the completion of the Rip Curl Pro Search Somewhere event last week.
North American Dream Tour surfers are now preparing for the upcoming Boost Mobile Pro pres. by Hurley, held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, CA from September 7-13, 2008.
Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, FL), eight-time ASP World Champion and current No. 1 on the ASP World Tour ratings, will look to improve upon a disappointing 17th in the last event and march onwards to an unprecedented 9th ASP World Title, while fellow Floridian C.J. Hobgood (Melbourne, FL), currently rated No. 8 on the ASP World Tour, has the second highest rating amongst North American surfers.
Chris Ward (San Clemente, CA) made some solid ground at the Rip Curl Pro Search event with an equal 3rd place finish, his best of the year, while Bobby Martinez (Santa Barbara, CA) sits in 9th overall amongst the world's best surfers.
Slater is still 1,072 points ahead of ASP World No. 2 Joel Parkinson despite his equal 17th place finish, which matched his worst for the year, but the defending Boost Mobile Pro Champion will look to claim a repeat victory at Lower Trestles which would lengthen his ratings lead over the field. Slater has already claimed four victories thus far in 2008 and has proven to be a standout at Lower Trestles in past years.
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It's an unfortunate result here no one likes a 17th," Slater said. "
However we get two throwaways and when I do that, I'm still counting four wins this year, which is pretty good. Lowers has always been a good venue for me. It feels like my backyard and it is typically one where I do really well. You can never discount any one in any heat though, these are the best surfers in the world and they're all dangerous."
Ward took advantage of the conditions on offer "somewhere" in Indonesia, significantly helping his cause towards requalification for next year's Dream Tour. The Californian eliminated former three-time ASP World Champion and two-time defending Rip Curl Pro Winner (2006, 2007) Andy Irons (Hanalei, HI) and 2007 ASP World Tour Runner-Up Taj Burrow (Yallingup, AUS) before losing to eventual winner Bruce Irons (Hanalei, HI) in the Semifinals. Ward's 3rd place finish earned him top honors amongst North American competitors at the Rip Curl Pro Search event.
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I'm not even bummed," Ward said. "
If I had come out of that one barrel, then I would have been in the Final, but I've had a great day and a 3rd place finish really helps me this year. The next event is in my backyard, Lower Trestles, and I'm pretty confident out there. I'll be spending a lot of time preparing for that event, but first I am going to enjoy this magical island and all the beautiful waves it has to offer."
Martinez claimed the second best finish amongst North American surfers in Indonesia with an equal 9th place and is currently ranked 9th on the ASP World Tour. The explosive goofy-footer's strategy is to always take a fresh approach to each heat and Martinez will use the Boost Mobile Pro as a fresh start to the season while attempting to maintain his top 10 rating on the ASP World Tour.
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The confidence thing for me doesn't really work," Martinez said. "It seems like every time I get a bit of confidence going, I get smacked back down. Heat wins are good but I try to approach every round fresh."
C.J. Hobgood sits at No. 8 overall on tour, while twin brother and fellow ASP World Tour campaigner Damien Hobgood (Satellite Beach, FL) is at No. 28. Damien suffered an injury before the Billabong Pro Teahupoo and will hope to have a healthy start to the second half of this year.
Timmy Reyes (Huntington Beach, CA) is ranked 17th while fellow Californian and ASP World Tour rookie Dane Reynolds (Ventura, CA) is No. 26 overall. ASP World Tour veteran Taylor Knox (Carlsbad, CA) is No. 29, while Ben Bourgeois (Wrightsville Beach, NC) will look to better his No. 32 position with a solid result at the Boost Mobile Pro. Bourgeois claimed a victory at the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) 4-Star 6.0 Lowers Pro earlier this spring and will look to bring his competitive success at Trestles to the ASP World Tour table.
The Boost Mobile Pro will be held from September 7-13, 2008 at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, CA.
Meanwhile the ASP WQS is heating up as the grind searches for next year's new additions to the ASP World Tour.
Brett Simpson (Huntington Beach, CA) was this week's top American ASP WQS finisher at the ASP WQS 5-Star Rip Curl Boardmasters in Newquay, England, with an equal 17th place finish, while ASP WQS ratings leader Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), current ASP WQS No. 5 Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA) and fellow top North American seeds Nathan Yeomans (San Clemente, CA) and Austin Ware (Solana Beach, CA) will continue their ASP WQS campaigns with the upcoming ASP WQS 6-Star Sooruz Lacanau Pro, held in Lacanau, France from August 12-17, 2008.
For more information, log onto
www.aspworldtour.com or
www.aspnorthamerica.orgASP World Tour Top 101. Kelly Slater (USA)
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
4. Taj Burrow (AUS)
5. Mick Fanning (AUS)
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
7. Andy Irons (HAW)
8. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
9. Bobby Martinez (USA)
10.Bruce Irons (HAW)
ASP WQS Top 101. Nathaniel Curran (USA)
2. David Weare (ZAF)
3. Pedro Henrique (BRA)
4. Chris Davidson (AUS)
5. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
6. Hizunome Bettero (BRA)
7. Pablo Paulino (BRA)
8. Sunny Garcia (HAW)
9. Marlon Lipke (DEU)
10.Drew Courtney (AUS)
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