Photo: ASP Kirsten
Our main man, Josh Kerr, put on quite the stellar performance at the Bells Contest, battling his way to the quarterfinals to a neck and neck showdown with Slater. Slater narrowly edged him out, but the points Kerr earned from the event boosted him to the number one slot of the ASP Men’s World Ranking! His big finish at Bells also puts him at number 5 for the ASP World Title. Is there a World Title in Kerrzy’s future? Our magic eight ball says… “the outlook is probable”.
Some highlights from the Margaret River QS, Kerr gets a sneaky banga.
Photo: © ASP/ Kirstin
Kerr started off 2012 in fighting form with his fifth Quarterfinal draw against reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater. In 2011 Kerrzy and Slates had matched up four times with Slater advancing every case. However, Kerr ended the drought and advanced thanks to a massive forehand air-reverse at the end of the heat.
Slater said of the heat “I turned around and Josh (Kerr) was on a pretty nice one and he got that air at the end. He’s always going to be a threat in conditions like this where he can throw big airs. I got Josh a few times last year, we had four Quarterfinal battles last year where I got him, so he owed me a couple. It never feels good to lose, but I’m happy for Josh.”
Kerrzy took an equal 3rd in the contest when he fell to Adriano in the Semifinals but a great start for Josh in 2012!
Here’s what our friends at Transworld did while down at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast asking our very own Josh Kerr what he has to say about being called a seppo by his mates and what it’s gonna take to beat Kelly Slater.
Kerrazy warming up before his heat. Coming up, the quarterfinals vs. S L A T E R!
Josh Kerr won his Rd 3 heat this morning with another display of aerial surfing. Josh posted the highest wave score of the day yesterday with a 9.5.
5 years ago almost to the day, Josh Kerr & Mick Fanning created history in one of the most epic heats ever surfed in ASP history. 2007 Quiksilver Pro 1/4 final, Josh lost the heat, but in his very firsy World Tour event on his rookie year he walked away pulling off one of the best moves to go down in the heat of the modern era.
