Part 6 - Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour 2009 - Port Waikato
Extended highlights of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour 2009 takes us to Port Waikato for the Final leg.
Tongan born Gisborne based surfer Michael Burling has come from behind to narrowly win the 2009 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour today after winning the final event of the season held at Port Waikato in what was a dramatic climax to the season.
Burling went into the final event of the year placed third on the ratings but his win today coupled with the demise of his two closest opponents, Thomas Kibblewhite (Auck) and Daniel Procter (Gis) meant that he took a crowd pleasing title.
“It has been a tough year – I wasn’t even going to do the tour this year but I did the first event and the competitive side of me came out and I couldn’t resist and yeah, here I am at the top of the ratings” said Burling.
Due to his Tongan descent, Burling is unable to contest the Hyundai National Championships presented by Quiksilver and is always caught behind the elite pack of New Zealand’s top longboarders as a result. However his form this year has been rather remarkable. Burling took out the final two events of the year and placed runner up in the third and fourth events of the year to show not only a consistent run of form but also the ability to transform consistency into big wins when it matters most.
“What stood out for me this year was simply never giving up in events, competing until the end and giving it my all” said Burling adding “All credit to Daniel [Procter] and Thomas [Kibblewhite], they have both had amazing years as well so I am just stoked to come out beating them”.
Burling finished with a 16.05 heat total in the final, less than a point clear of Mount Maunganui surfer Owen Barnes on 15.20. “I went out with a simple plan of making the most of the waves before the tide went out too much. I got that 8.75 point ride on my first wave and that killed the nerves somewhat”. “At the end the others came back though and I didn’t quite know what the others needed to beat me so I started to tense up.
Midway through the final the win looked all Burlings, however it was the competitive experience of Barnes that pushed him back into contention. Barnes completed several big vertical turns on one wave to score 7.70 and jump back into contention. He then took a wave with two minutes remaining to score 7.50 out of a possible 10 points which was short of the 8.36 required for the win.
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