Sat 12 Dec 2009
PIPELINE: Australia's Mick Fanning, 28, clinched his second ASP World Title in a mixed moment of celebration and commiseration for his school friend Joel Parkinson.
It all went down at the Billabong Pipe Masters - the final stop of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink - when Fanning found himself in the lineup with childhood mates Parko and Dean Morrison.
The same horn that signaled the start of Fanning's fourth round opening heat clash against Morrison, signaled the end of Joel's run in the Billabong Pipe Masters and the end of his world title campaign, eliminated in the last heat of the third round by Gavin Gillette (Hawaii). With Parkinson's loss, Fanning was unbeatable on the ASP Dream Tour rankings. Forty minutes later, Morrison had eliminated him from the competition.
In recognition of his accomplishment, the Vans Triple Crown awarded Mick a $50,000 world champion's bonus - part one of the Vans Triple Threat that will also award $50,000 on the final day of competition to the Billabong Pipe Masters champion, and a further $50,000 to the Vans Triple Crown series champion.
"First I'd like to thank Vans," said Fanning. "I really appreciate how they stepped it up for the Triple Crown. It's awesome to see companies believing in surfing. It's just a picture of what's going to happen in years to come.
"I'm at a loss for words. It's been such a crazy year and I had so much fun. I'm just shaking and lost for words."
"If I wasn't in the race, I would have been gunning for Joel (Parkinson), for sure. He just had that bad ankle injury and surfed so good all year."
The 2009 ASP World Tour season will go down in history as one of the most dramatic, with Parkinson winning three of the first five events before Fanning rallied in the latter half of the season to overtake his good friend.
"I knew I was surfing well," Fanning said. "It was just a matter of getting that result. I knew it was going to turn around sooner or later. I don't know, it's weird the way the world works."
Heading into the quarter finals the lineup consists of three Floridians - Kelly Slater and brothers CJ and Damien Hobgood; Australians Dean Morrison, Bede Durbidge and Taj Burrow; California's Dane Reynolds; and lone local Hawaii surfer Flynn Novak. Slater has won six Pipe Masters titles during his career, and Durbidge has won one.
CJ Hobgood is now the only surfer who can get between defending Vans Triple Crown champion Parkinson and a second series title that is this year worth a bonus $50,000 and a $10,000 custom Nixon watch. With Parkinson out of the competition, CJ must make it all the way to the final, where a first or second place would be sufficient to wrap it up.
In conjunction with Billabong's $40,000 winner's purse, Vans has added a bonus $50,000 to bring the first place check to $90,000.
The final day of competition will be aired live on FUEL TV across the USA as well as Australia and Portugal. This will be the first-ever live broadcast of an ASP World Tour event in the United States.
Fanning's 2009 ASP World Tour results
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, Australia: Equal 3rd
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Australia: Equal 5th
Billabong Pro Teahupoo, Tahiti: Equal 9th
Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro, Brazil: Equal 5th
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: Equal 17th
Hurley Pro Trestles, California, USA: WINNER
Quiksilver Pro France: WINNER
Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain: Equal 9th
Rip Curl Pro Search, Portugal: WINNER
Billabong Pipeline Masters, Hawaii: Equal 9th
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