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Smith wins; tops WQS again

South African surfing sensation Jordy Smith captured the first six-star-rated surfing event of his career in France at the weekend to rocket 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. Smith's victory was worth R105 000 and 2 500 ratings points.

In testing 1.5 to 2.5-metre (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 the South African posted an excellent 7.5 point ride (out of 10) at the 12-minute mark.

Shut the door
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. That earned him, an outstanding 9.03 points, which 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 take the win.

"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.

Road to victory
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 quarterfinals. He had a narrow escape in the last 16, securing victory over Tahitian Michel Bourez only in the last seconds of their match up.

Daniel Redman 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.

He placed equal fifth overall and collected R18 500 and 1 625 invaluable ratings' points. That strong showing elevated Redman 40 places to No. 100 in the WQS rankings.

Eliminations
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. David Weare was ousted in the round of 96 for the second event in a row.

Smith's win has vaulted him from fourth to first on the WQS ratings after 24 of the 46 events. Weare has dropped from 13th to 17th, Bryson from 28th to 31st, and Emslie rises from 56th to 44th as a result of him completing his full quota of seven counting scores.

ASP World Qualifying Ratings
(Top 15 qualify for Foster’s ASP World Tour in 2008)