Michel Bourez dominates opening day of Nike Lowers Pro-Model > ARP-2

Official press release
6.0 Lowers Pro
ASP 6-Star Prime Mens WQS event
Lower Trestles,
San Clemente Ca
28 April - 3 May 2008

Live Coverage  |  Results/Photos/Videos etc
Michel Bourez dominates opening day of 6.0 Lowers Pro

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 28 April, 2009 : - - San Clemente -- The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star PRIME 6.0 Lowers Pro saw the opening day of America’s first ASP 6-Star PRIME event end in dramatic fashion when ASP World Tour rookie Michel Bourez (Toahotu, PYF), 23, delivered the day’s highest scores in the second-to-last heat of the day.
The 6.0 Lowers Pro’s ASP 6-Star PRIME status offers the maximum amount of points available for an ASP WQS even and a $145,000 prize purse, making the prestigious contest a significant stop on all competitors’ calendars in their quest towards qualification for the coveted ASP World Tour.
Bourez crushed the day’s highest single wave score when he annihilated an amazing Lowers lefthander, blasting several backside turns and earning a near-perfect 9.77 out of 10. The talented Tahitian then capitalized on a beautiful righthand wall and went ballistic on his forehand, donating another nine-point ride for the day’s highest heat total of 18.77 out of 20.
“That left came from nowhere,” Bourez said. “There were no waves in my heat and there was the first wave and the biggest set had came and all of the guys were paddling for it and I let it go. Just behind it was that sick left.”  Bourez had never surfed Lower Trestles before, but he wasted no time in becoming familiar with the coveted pointbreak.
 
“This is my first time here,” Bourez said. “Lowers is such a good wave and you have the left and the right on the main peak. It’s way different than most spots on the ‘QS because you have time enough to catch one or two of the best sets, so you don’t have to wait or change the way you act in the water.”
The powerful regular-footer is hoping to utilize his time at Lower Trestles as a good practice run before he tackles the world’s best at the Hurley Pro, mainland America’s only ASP World Tour event. “That was my plan,” Bourez said. “It’s even better for me to come and practice here before the World Tour event, so it’s great. My coach has told me a lot about this wave and I think that’s what helped me in that heat.”