Bobby Martinez Wins!

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2006 Foster's ASP Men's World Tour rookie Bobby Martinez has won!

Beating freshly crowned eight-time Foster's ASP Men's World Tour Champion Kelly Slater in the final in front of an amazingly vocal crowd Martinez was elated!
And rightly so! This is his second tour win in 2006 – no mean feat for a tour first timer.
Well done Bobby and well done Kelly!

Oct 13: Martinez Wins Billabong Pro Slater Claims The Crown

MUNDAKA, Basque Country, Northern Spain (Friday, October 13, 2006) – After an incredibly strong performance in one metre (three foot) waves at the famed break of Mundaka, Bobby Martinez (USA) has won the Billabong Pro ahead of newly crowned eight-time world champion Kelly Slater (USA). Despite conditions not being brilliant, the entertainment and drama during the day was at a paramount as alongside Martinez’s stellar win, the contenders for the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour title were eliminated one by one in order for Slater to claim the crown. Martinez however was in no way intimidated by Slater’s dominance of this year’s tour and powered home with a feverish small-wave attack to claim his second tour event of the year. Getting down to work from the outset of the final, Martinez set about racking up his wave count. His best wave came when he pumped out no less than 12 to 15 forehand snaps over a 100 metre distance which earned him a score of 8.83 out of 10 – his total score was 16.40 out of 20 to Slater’s 14.27. “I don’t know what to say, it’s been an amazing year for me,” said a beaming Martinez. “This year I came in just happy to be here after struggling on the World Qualifying Series for so long. I just wanted to give it my all at every contest and just try and requalify and to win two events… it’s just crazy for me. I never got ahead of myself thinking I’m going to win this event. I just can’t believe it!”Adding to the prize was the fact that he had beaten Slater, who has been a hero for Martinez since he was a youngster. “It’s great, he’s my favourite, he’s my hero and I’ve looked up to him from the moment I saw him surf,” said Martinez. “To be out there in the water right after he won his 8th world title was cool. We were talking and having a good time. He’s the best surfer to ever step foot into the sport and it was a laugh. We were just having fun with it. We were talking and goofing around. It was cool. It didn’t feel real.”Martinez defeated a stellar field on his run to the podium, defeating Dean Morrison (AUS) in the semifinal, and Andy Irons (HAW) in the quarters.“I got lucky this event,” said the unassuming Californian. “I’m just thrilled to be on this tour. I’m so glad to be here traveling and doing what I’m doing. It’s what I’ve dreamed of and it’s amazing for me.Martinez has now put himself in the box seat to take out the 2006 Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour rookie of the year. “I don’t know, I’m not thinking about that!” said Martinez. “I’m just living the moment right now. It’s just crazy and I’m trying to enjoy right here right now, cause it doesn’t happen for me much. So I’m just enjoying it all.”And could the rookie go on to win a world title of his own?“Nah I’m not going to say that at all, next year I just hope I qualify!” said Martinez. “There’s no telling what could happen next year. I hope I can just qualify and be here again. This is everything I’ve dreamed of.”For Slater his second place was obviously well overshadowed by his semi final result where he claimed a win over Joel Parkinson (AUS) and in turn created history by claiming an unprecedented eighth world crown. In the semi, Slater pulled out all the stops on the smallish waves and perhaps went into the final too relaxed, as during the 35-minute final decider he was no match for Martinez’s energy. He was full of praise for his finals rival Martinez with whom he has been a friend for many moons. “I was stoked that Bobby started out so strong this year. He got to third and he was right up there in the ratings, then he had a little rough patch there at the last few events,” said Slater. “I was just so happy to see him win at Teahupoo, it was his dad’s birthday that day. To win here again, it just all fits, I got the title by making the final and Bobby (Martinez) wins it. I’m stoked for him.”(NB: Another release will be circulated later containing all of Kelly Slater’s quotes on his world crown.)Finishing in equal third, Parkinson, the form surfer of the European tour leg to date, was obviously dismayed at the result given that in the loss to Slater he had surrendered his outside chance for claiming his first ever world title. “It was hard… Three events ago I wasn’t even in contention and then I was in that position,” said Parkinson. “So I thought I should be able to hold my head high, whether I win or lose. “I had the mindset of winning so I was really angry when I lost. A lot of people said to me after it, ‘hold your head high’, but for 10 minutes there I was just shattered. I thought the rest of the 45 are going to be say ‘why didn’t you give it to him’ and blame me for letting him win, but it isn’t all me, there are a lot of people who could have beat him during the year. But congratulations to him.”Also finishing in equal third was Parkinson’s good friend Dean Morrison (AUS) who earlier in the day defeated Burrow in the quarterfinals thus ending his title aspirations. “Bobby’s grabbed a 9.40 early and that made it really hard for me to get in front,” said Morrison about his matchup. “There’s not too many opportunities out there and you really have to fight for them. We were scuttling around at the start of the heat and he got lucky and got that one. That was the deciding factor in the heat. That’s the way it is with the conditions like that. There’s five or 10 minutes in the heat that change the outcome.”Morrison has now booked a spot in the top 10 and with two events remaining he indicated he is eager to move further up the charts.“It’s been a great year learning wise and I’m getting the ball rolling,” said Morrison. “We’ve got 10 days off and we go to Brazil and then on to Hawaii. I’m really looking forward to a big finish this year.”As mentioned by Morrison the tour will now move around the globe to Imbituba, Brazil for the Nova Schin Festival presented by Billabong. The event kicks off on October 30 with a waiting period extending until November 8.
Today’s results: Remaining quarterfinal: (1st to semifinal 2nd to equal 5th and 732 ratings points)
Quarterfinal 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.50 vs Dean Morrison (AUS) 12.00
Semifinals: (1st to final 2nd receives equal 3rd and 876 ratings points)
Semifinal 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.50 def Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.14
Semifinal 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) 15.57 def Dean Morrison (AUS) 11.60
Final: (1st receives 1200 ratings points 2nd receives 1032 ratings points)
Final: Bobby Martinez 16.40 def Kelly Slater (USA) 14.27

Current Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour top 10 ratings after event #9 The Billabong Pro Mundaka
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 7824
2. Andy Irons (HAW) 6348
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 6290
4. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6050
5. Mick Fanning (AUS) 5848
6. Bobby Martinez (USA) 5843
7. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5152
8. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 4948
9. Taylor Knox (USA) 4880
10. Dean Morrison (AUS) 4856

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Billabong Pro Mundaka

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Billabong Pro Mundaka, October 2 or 3 – 14, 2006

Mundaka: Bakio, Spain

LATITUDE: 43º17’ N

LONGITUDE: 2º7’

WTIME DIFFERENCE: GMT +1

ATTITUDE: Last season saw the famed lefthander up and vanish due to the dredging of the adjacent reservoir. Fortunately, as we go to press, rumour has it that Mundaka is back in action and prepared to provide stellar conditions once again.

THE WAVE: Goofies unite and sing praise for this reeling sandbar left. Hollow, long, rippable – this wave is heaven for those guided by the wisdom of their right foot. Fun at two feet, holds at 15, Mundaka is a fantastic place for competitors to flash their high-performance fangs.

PERKS: Mundaka’s sandy bottom is conducive to playful surfing. Win the event, and the locals chuck you into the harbour…

PERILS: Monstrous, sandy barrels that want to eat you, your board and your wettie. A crazy rip that, if you don’t have a jet-ski assist, may have you paddling for dear life.

APRES SURF: Spain is host to several hundred world-class tapas bars. Sample the local wine, grab some appetizers, and enjoy the beautiful Basque countryside.

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The Return of the Sandbar

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The famous left-hander of Mundaka has come back with vengeance two weeks before the start of the tenth event of the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour. No later than last week, Mundaka produced some of the thickest and heaviest waves in the history of the break. “This early season swell was fantastic, Mundaka really showed her teeth with some heavy waves that even had the locals pulling back!” commented Carl Wieser, Men’s Marketing Manager at Billabong Europe. Last Thursday, in challenging conditions; west winds, pouring rain and the tide going out, 25 surfers entered the water. By full low tide at 5pm, they were riding 10 foot waves breaking on 1 foot of water. Francois Liets, marketing co-ordinator of the Network Surf Division at Billabong Europe, went along for the ride. “It was almost impossible to take off. When someone got up, the ride lasted 10 seconds before they fell down the face of the wave!”By Friday, the rain had not let up, but the news of Mundaka’s supremacy had travelled. 90 guys crowded the water all day, waiting for their turn to ride. The wind was still blowing west, but although the waves had gone down to 5-6 foot they retained their strength from the day before. “The take-off was not as close to the rocks as it has been in previous years. It’s about 40m away now, so you don’t get the full wave. But the mid-section was definitely the best,” said Liets.“On the bigger day Mundaka broke through both the high and low tides, which is rare as normally it only works at low tide. If we get another strong swell in our waiting period that can last for 4 days, we can get through the entire draw without stopping,” added Wieser. Local surfers such as Ibon Amatrian, Natxo Fernandez, Iker Fuentes, Eneko and Kepa Acero, as well as Billabong riders Fabrice Gelez and Ben Sanchis, were impressed with the conditions of the sand bar.

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Fanning finishes runner-up in France WCT

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Rippy maniac Mick Fanning has finished runner-up to friend Joel Parkinson at the 8th Foster's ASP Men's World Tour event in France on the weekend.While Fanning's final score of 7.67 fell well short of Parko's 15.17, the natural footer had an amazing day and comfortably sits in 5th overall on the Tour Ratings. Mick was disappointed about losing the final, but happy for Parko to claim his first victory since the Boost Mobile Pro in California in 2004. "If one of your best mates wins it’s just great," said Fanning. "A second is always good, it looks really good at the end of the year. Last week I lost to Deano (Dean Morrison) in California and this week I lost to Joel. When's it my turn?" [laughs]Fanning admitted that at the end of the day fatigue got the better of him."It was hard out there," said Fanning. "As fit as I think I am, I know I can do some more work now. I just sat there in the final for 25 minutes just paddling, paddling, paddling and by the time I got a wave I was just so fatigued in my whole body and mentally I just couldn’t do anything."Half way through the final both surfers rode waves simultaneously and when they hit the sand a sprint race ensued along the beach back to the rip – much to the delight of the crowd who were enjoying the competition between the two friends."I put the sprint on at the start and I thought, I’ve just have to cruise," said Fanning. "I knew that I could beat him on the paddle out and gain priority. After you've been paddling for 25 minutes... to just run like that, I mean, I don't know where I got that energy from. It didn't really do anything anyway, I paddled out the back and got a close out anyway." [Laughs] When speaking about Fanning, Parkinson was full of admiration for his good mate. "I see Mick in the surf a lot at home as we free surf together all the time," said Parkinson. "When I free surf with him I just think, I don’t know how I can ever keep up with him. We have those battles all the time where we both just step up to the plate. We’ve been doing that since we were 12 years old. We don’t talk out there, we’re best of mates and we sit out there for half and hour and we won’t say a word. Before and afterwards we’re all high fives."
The next World Tour event will be held at Mundaka, Spain starting on October 2.


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Round Four Heat Results (1st to Quarterfinals 2nd receives equal 9th placing and 600 points)

Heat 1: Roy Powers (HAW) 11.66 def Danny Wills (AUS) 11.33
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.67 def Bruce Irons (HAW) 7.70
Heat 3: Jake Paterson (AUS) 11.50 def Mick Lowe (AUS) 6.73
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.50 def Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.30
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.00 def Cory Lopez (USA) 10.67
Heat 6: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 15.67 def Marcelo Nunes (BRA) 11.90
Heat 7: Fred Patacchia (HAW) 12.50 def Pedro Henrique (BRA) 10.83
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.93 def Phil Macdonald (AUS) 11.33

Quarterfinals Results: (1st to Semifinals 2nd receives equal 5th placing and 732 points)

Quarterfinal 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.50 def Roy Powers (HAW) 6.30
Quarterfinal 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.17 def Jake Paterson (AUS) 12.67
Quarterfinal 3: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.34 def Tom Whitaker (AUS) 11. 83
Quarterfinal 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 19.00 def Fred Patacchia (HAW) 13.16

Semifinal results: (1st to Final 2nd receives equal 3rd and 876 points)

Semifinal 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.60 def Kelly Slater (USA) 12.66
Semifinal 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.43 def Andy Irons (HAW) 6.93

Final results: (1st receives 1200 points; 2nd receives 1032 points)

Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.16 def Mick Fanning (AUS) 7.67

Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour Top 10 Ratings after Event #8
1. Kelly Slater 7017
2. Taj Burrow 5968
3. Andy Irons 5841
4. Joel Parkinson 5584
5. Mick Fanning 5341
6. Taylor Knox 4880
7. Bobby Martinez 4868
8. Damien Hobgood 4777
9. Tim Reyes 4585
10. Tom Whitaker 4441

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