Pipeline Masters Wraps Up ASP Season

Mick Fanning already had the ASP Crown going into the contest, but the Pipeline Masters still provided some great surfing to close out another great year for the members of Red Bull's Surf Team, with all qualifying for next season...

It always comes down to the Islands

Every winter in Hawaii brings something new. Sometimes - like in 2004 when Red Bull rider Bruce Irons won the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational in Memory of Eddie Aikau in massive, near-closeout conditions at Waimea Bay - it was the waves that defined the season.

Or take Andy Irons dominance in the Triple Crown, winning it four out of the last five years. And while the winter of 2007 may go down as a relatively benign year in terms of waves, with careers hanging in the balance, there certainly was no shortage of drama.

With the final event of the ASP World Championship Tour of Surfing wrapping up at Hawaii’s infamous Banzai Pipeline, Red Bull’s team of surfers definitely made their presence felt.

Although the waves were not up to their usual, psychotic self, for the final day of competition fun-size and rippable surf was on offer. Hot off of riding the biggest wave of his life in Tahiti some weeks prior, Maui’s Ian Walsh scored himself a wildcard into the 2007 Billabong Pipeline Masters and made full use of it, taking down current World Champion and fellow Red Bull rider Mick Fanning in Round Four, eventually surfing his way all the way into a very respectable ninth place.

For Bruce Irons the Pipe Masters was a do or die situation. In order to re-qualify for the 2008 season the younger of the two Irons boys had to finish ninth or better. In order to guarantee their spot on the 2008 World Championship Tour surfers need to finish in the top 27 of the year-end rankings. Coming into the event Bruce was sitting in 28th position.

Fortunately he absolutely owns Pipe, and using his experience and knowledge of the tricky wave he was able to work his way through enough heats and finish the 2007 season 24th; just barely securing his position for next season.

With a world title to Mick Fanning’s credit and the rest of the WCT crew re-qualifying for the big dance next year, 2007 was an impressive season for the Red Bull surf team.

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In 2008 those surfers will also be joined by Portugal’s Tiago Pieres, who earned himself a position on the WCT after an impressive year slugging it out on the World Qualifying Series.

For now the tour will be taking a break for a couple of months before kicking off the new season on the Gold Coast of Australia, at the end of February.