Brett Simpson advances into Round 3 of the Jeffreys Bay Billabong Pro. Ace Buchan, already through to Round 4.
Fresh off a Round 2 victory over Jeremy Flores, Brett sets his sights on a solid finish at JBay. We were able to catch up with Brett to find out how things are going down in South Africa and to see what the ASP rookie thinks of the 2010 World Tour thus far. Simpo walks us through his year and explains how it can only get better from here. - Phil Bannan
HURLEY.COM: HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN AS A ROOKIE ON THE ASP WORLD TOUR SO FAR?
BRETT SIMPSON: It’s been good. I missed some opportunities in the last few contests. I feel like I should have been doing better. I think I’ve been over thinking it and can definitely surf better than I have been. I’m still learning and trying to find my groove within the tour. Hopefully I can keep this streak going at JBay and get back in rhythm. I was surfing some great waves during the break the past two months. I’m excited to get back into it.
THAT’S GOOD YOU CAN TAKE OUT A POSTITIVE FROM THE FIRST FEW CONTESTS, KNOWING THAT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN SURFING YOUR BEST AND CAN PERFORM BETTER IN THESE NEXT FEW EVENTS.
Yeah, for sure. I have two 17ths and a 33rd. In a way, my goal is to get at least a 9th place finish here at JBay, because that would help my situation a lot. You definitely still want to look beyond that and finish higher, but for now I’m looking to set a different standard and hopefully stay consistent through an event.
HOW DID THE BREAK FROM TOUR TREAT YOU?
It was great. I had almost two months off to travel and turn off the competitive engines. I went on a boat trip for ten days with Pat and Tanner Gudauskas, Nate Yeomans, Mike Losness, Eric Geiselman and Alex Gray. It was amazing. Everyone got along and we scored some perfect waves. From there, I went to the Hurley house in Bali and stayed for about two weeks over there. We scored some good Padang Padang the first day and had fun waves the rest of the trip. It was nice to relax. But now, it’s all about JBay.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO JBAY BEFORE THIS CONTEST? HOW HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEEN SO FAR?
Yeah, I’ve been here before with the Huntington Beach High surf team. We didn’t get amazing waves, but it was definitely fun. JBay is a tricky wave. You can easily see if someone makes a mistake and it can also bring out the flaws in your surfing. It’s a long right hand point break and I feel like it suits my surfing well. I was able to get some good warm-up sessions in by coming a week early, so hopefully I can keep making it through my heats.
WHAT ABOUT THE FOLLOWING CONTEST AT TEAHUPOO? HAVE YOU SURFED THERE BEFORE?
I’ve never surfed there. It’s one of the spots I’m a little more anxious about. It’s definitely a wave with consequence. In Indo, we surfed a few solid left-handers so I’m feeling somewhat comfortable going into it. Hopefully the waves are good for the contest. I’m excited to surf with only two guys out there in some heavier conditions. We’re going to get barreled, so I’m pretty stoked.
WITH THE TOUR DROPPING FROM 45 TO 32 AT THE HALFWAY POINT AFTER TEAHUPOO, WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING ONE OF THE SURFERS ON THE BUBBLE WITH A CHANCE OF BEING KNOCKED OFF?
The last contest in Brazil, I never got going with any good waves and it felt like I chose the wrong equipment. That was frustrating to let that opportunity to slip by, but it’s past me now and I’m looking forward to making some heats these next two contests. I will need some good results to stay on the tour after the halfway cut.
After Teahupoo there’s going to be a line drawn to see who gets to stay on tour. Everyone will be going for it and pushing the limits out there. There will be some pretty heavy wipeouts with guys trying to make it through their heats (laughs). So that will be a good one.
WELL WE LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING YOU IN YOUR NEXT FEW HEATS AND AT THE NEXT CONTEST IN TEAHUPOO. GOOD LUCK BRETT.
Thanks. I appreciate it.
Stay tuned as Brett Simpson looks to make it through his Round 3 match up against Michel Bourez once competition resumes. Brett would join fellow Hurley team rider, Ace Buchan, in Round 4 of the Jeffreys Bay Billabong Pro.
Ace Buchan en route to a Round 3 heat win
