Event Reports
Takayuki Wakita wins Rip Curl Cup Trials in pumping Padang pits; Dean Morrison shines in afternoon Expression Session
04 August 2011-
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August 3rd, 2011
Padang Padang, Bali – Takayuki Wakita won the Trials of the 2011 Rip Curl Cup, held in four-to-five foot Padang barrels on Wednesday. The Japanese surfer has earned himself a spot in the main event, to be held on the biggest and best day of the year at Padang this season.
Also qualifying for the main event were Hawaii's Makua Rothman and Bali local Rahtu Suargita, who finished second and third respectively. Rounding out the six-man Trials heat were Makua's younger brother, Koa Rothman (Haw), Dedi Gun (Bali) and Tipi Jabrik (Bali).
"Surfing with my little brother in a heat out at Padang is something I won't forget," Makua Rothman said afterward. "We were all just stoked to be surfing one of the best swells of the year at Padang for a full hour with just a few of us out. To make it into the main event was the icing on the cake."
With less than two minutes remaining in the 60-minute heat, Wakita was in first place in front of Rothman with a narrow 1-point lead, when the largest set of the morning came marching in from the Indian Ocean towards the Padang reef. Rothman went for the first wave of the five-wave set and bobbed and weaved his way through the bending tube on his backhand, all the way across the reef. He escaped through a detonating lip on the shallow end section, and finished off the ride with a flourishing claim on the inside.
"I got the first wave of the set and was so stoked when I made it out," Rothman said. "Then I looked back and saw three or four more waves just stacking up perfect and guys getting pitted."
Rothman earned an 8.0 and the lead for his wave, but it would be a short-lived lead. On the final wave of the Trials, Wakita pulled into a gaping Padang cavern and didn't re-appear until he was spat out in plumes of spray all the way on the inside.
"I could tell it was the last wave of the set," Wakita said, "so I knew I had to make it out to win. Lucky I was able to sneak out at the very end. I can't wait to surf this special wave again in the main event."
Bali's Rahtu Suargita also scored a beautiful tube ride on the last wave of the decisive set, leap-frogging him past Koa Rothman for the third and final Wild Card spot in the main event.
"This morning I was on the outside looking in," Suargita said. "I didn't even know if I was going to get to surf in the Trials. Now I'm in the Padang Cup. I'm so excited to be part of this event."
Meanwhile, in the afternoon Expression Session, former WCT standout Dean Morrison (Aus) wowed the crowd with his deep backside tuberiding magic, and ridiculously deep double-barrel. Morrison was victorious in the 60-minute Expression Session, which featured 11 of his fellow invitees seeing how deep they could ride on the low-tide foamball and still exit the barrel. Morrison was rewarded with a classic channel-bottom pintail, hand-shaped by legendary surfer/shaper Allan Byrne, who also picked the winner of the session.
"The guys were putting on a show out there," Byrne said. "The best part was, they all got the idea of the Expression Session. They weren't hassling each other and pushing each other too deep. They were sitting in the right spot and cycling waves so they could surf the barrels out there as well as you possibly could. It was an honor to judge the surfing out there, and a real treat for everyone who came out to the beach today."
2011 Rip Curl Cup Trials results:
1st – Takayuki Wakita (Japan) 13.75*
2nd – Makua Rothman (Hawaii) 13.00*
3rd – Rahtu Suargita (Bali) 10.75*
4th – Koa Rothman (Haw) 5.50
5th – Dedi Gun (Bali) 4.25
6th – Tipi Jabrik (Bali) 4.25
*qualify for main event
Expression Session Results:
1st – Dean Morrison (Aus)
2nd – Mustofa Jekson (Bali)
3rd – Garut Widiarta (Bali)
Watch All the Action! Event Website is Live!
Check the Rip Curl Cup website at www.RipCurl.com to see the event status and find out when “It's On.” On contest day, fans will be treated to “Heats On-Demand,” which can be viewed on the website minutes after the final scores come in. Also check the website for in-depth interviews with all the invited surfers and daily video features on all the hottest surfing, parties and happenings in Bali during the waiting period. See it all at www.RipCurl.com.
About the Rip Curl Cup
Now in its eighth year, the Rip Curl Cup Invitational at Padang Padang is Indonesia’s longest-running surfing competition and the only ISC tour event featuring top international surfers alongside Indonesia’s best. In 2011, Rip Curl continues to infuse the contest with international flavor and big names. The field of 32 surfers is split equally between 16 of Indonesia’s all-time greatest and 16 of the world’s best tube slayers. This invitational format, along with the allure of the wave at Padang and a $10,000 prize purse, makes the Rip Curl Cup the most anticipated event of the Indo surf season.
Rip Curl has set aside a five-week waiting period to hold the “one-day, one-swell” event. This year's window will run from July 10th through Aug. 14th and the contest will be run entirely on the chosen day. When contest directors see an ideal “Padang swell” in the forecast, they will give the green light and the 32 competitors will have 24 hours to make it to Bali’s Bukit Peninsula.
Real-time contest status and updates can be found at www.RipCurl.com.
The Rip Curl Cup Event Guide is available at: http://issuu.com/ripcurlasia/docs/rip_curl_cup_padang_padang_2011_-_event_guide
The Event Trailer can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQFX9q-Jhws
Media inquiries should be directed to: media@ripcurl.co.id
The Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang 2011 is sponsored by GUS, Smirnoff Ice, Kawasaki with media support by Magic Seaweed,Waves, FHM, Surf Time, Lines, Alam TV, MAXIM, JUICE, Area, Oz radio Bali and sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships.
Rip Curl Cup Trials completed, event status back on High Alert for a potential Sunday morning start. COMMENTS
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