23 June 2009, Taliwang-West Sumbawa : In the last heat of Round 4 today with 4-5 foot righthanders pounding onto the reef, the Number 1 and 2 ranked Coca-Cola ISC tour pro competitors battled it out for a spot in the Quarterfinals, and at the end of the 20 minute heat it was last year's champion Dede Suryana who emerged the heat winner over 2007 champion Lee Wilson.
With 5 minutes to go Wilson needed only a 6.1 point score to take over the lead, and in these waves conditions it seemed very likely happen given Wilson's penchant for going extremely mental at every opportunity, but things just didn't go his way so he was left paddling in clearly disappointed. "I was so nervous in the final minutes, coz I knew I had to get a good wave, so I was trying to make the most of the one I got, but I got off balance at the end of that floater and fell. It just didn't happen for me this time", he explaied back on the beach
Wilson had jumped into the lead with a couple of short barrel rides, a rarity on high tide at this venue, but Suryana's patience was rewarded when he dropped into a couple of beauties which he carved apart to take over the lead, which he then held til the end, finishing with a 7.5 and a 4.5 to Wilson's 6.0 and 5.0.
Suryana had come in equal third in the last Coca-Cola ISC event, giving Wilson the points lead for 2009, so he was extremely delighted to be sitting in the drivers seat again. He said smiling, "I was bummed that I didn't get to the final in the last comp at my home town, so I'm really happy that I'm in the quarters now so I can be in a position to win this one. I really want to get the title again this year!"
After yesterday's lay day for the surfers due to mediocre conditions where the previous rounds had been run, the Rip Curl Search crew meanwhile had been busy scoping out another location in which to hold Round 4. Of course in this wave-rich region of West Sumbawa they were easily successful, so the word went out to the competitors at 6 pm yesterday to be ready to jump into the waiting transport at 5:30 am the next morning and head off for a one hour drive to a beautiful blue water bay that is home to some cranking and rippable righthanders.
The waves were going off and contrary to common knowledge many of the goofy footers found these waves to their liking, including last year's Scar Reef Pro champion Rahtu Suargita and Rip Curl team rider Wayan "Gobleg" Suyadnya, who both dropped into the sizeable waves and threw heaps of spray, bashing the tops of each wave on their way to their heat wins.
Also advancing were Raditya Rondi, Made Awan, Pepen Hendrik, Devis Ratif, and Tai Graham, making it almost an even match between goofyfooters and naturalfooters who will compete in the upcoming Quarterfinals.
After the last heat of Round 4 the Masters Division competitors had their chance to show the youngsters how it should be done, and Made Lana in his first competition as a Master got off to a great start in the large hightide surf, posting two 7.5 point waves to claim victory over hard charging goofy footer Ketut Wirtawan, who was close on his heels at the horn with a 7.1 and a 6.8. In third was Made Lapur, who together with Lana was surfing in the Pro division earlier but had been knocked out, and rounding out the top four was last Masters competition winner Wayan Widiarta.
The Quarterfinalists in the Pro division are scheduled to meet again on Friday the 23rd, as the swell is forecasted to be increasing starting Thursday afternoon, with Friday and Saturday scheduled to be giving some solid 6-8 surf in which to wrap up the Rip Curl West Sumbawa Pro 2009.
For more photos, stories, and other great stuff, check out www.ripcurl.com and www.isctour.com on the web.
The Rip Curl West Sumbawa Pro got started on June 20, the first day of the waiting period, and has until June 30 to be completed, allowing the competitors to surf in the best wave conditions and best locations possible in the wave rich and beautiful West Sumbawa area.
The Rip Curl West Sumbawa Pro is supported by Rip Curl Asia, the Government of West Sumbawa, the West Sumbawa Tourism Forum, Surf Time and Magic Wave and is sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour.
Text and photos by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Thanks,
Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC
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