23 Aug The Malibu Boats Tokyo Pro Presented by Rockstar Continues in Tokyo
The Malibu Boats Tokyo Pro Presented by Rockstar is officially underway as the Pro Women’ s semifinals and the Pro Men’s quarterfinals are now complete at Odaiba Beach in Tokyo Japan. The story of the day was how Malibu Boats Team rider Toshiki Yasui was inspired to compete in his home country and dominated his heat to advance to the semifinals. Yasui’s run behind the Malibu Wakesetter 22 MXZ thrilled the crowd on shore as he scored an 85.00 to advance.
Malibu Tokyo Pro Day 1 Recap from World Wakeboard Association on Vimeo.
In other Pro Men’s action, Yasui’s fellow countryman Shota Tezuka was involved in a tightly contested battle in Heat 4, that saw him just miss out on a spot in the semifinals. With only two riders in each each moving on, both Stephen Pierce and Raph Derome were able to advance from the heat. Derome will be joined by his brother Oli who also won his heat.
Sunday’s semifinals will also feature the top six riders in the Wakeboard World Series standings as they are prequalified into the semifinals. Wakeboard World Series leader Harley Clifford will hit the water in Japan for the first time along with Phil Soven. Austin Hair, JD Webb, Mike Dowdy and Noah Flegel. The top two Men in each semifinal heat will advance to the finals.
In the Pro Women’s division, Malibu Boats team rider Tarah Mikacich laid down an impressive run that won her semifinal heat. With the great runs she and Melissa Marquardt laid down, the will advance to the finals while also knocking WBWS points leader Meagan Ethell out of the competition. Dallas Friday and Raimi Merritt will also look to capitalize in Sunday’s Final as both won their semifinal heat. Rounding out the Pro Women’s final are Nicola Butler and Taylor McCullough.
Saturday marked the official beginning of the Malibu Boats Tokyo Pro and an amazing Opening Ceremony kicked things off nicely as all of the riders were given a special introduction in front of city officials and the entire Japanese Wakeboard Association (JWBA). As part of the ceremony, the JWBA honored Malibu Boats President Jack Springer along with WWA President Shannon Starling with a special gift in appreciation for bringing this great event back to Japan.
As the organizer and sanctioning body of the Malibu Tokyo Pro Presented by Rockstar Energy, the World Wakeboard Association would like to thank all our partners who make this event possible, including Malibu Boats, Rockstar Energy Drink, FLAX and, Billabong.
THE RESULTS Saturday, August 22, 2015
Pro Women
Semi Finals Heat #: 01
1 Raimi Merritt USA 76.33
2 Nicola Butler GBR 70.00
3 Corrie Wilson USA 56.33
4 Abby Delgoffe USA 40.00
Semi Finals Heat #: 02
1 Dallas Friday USA 82.33
2 Taylor McCullough USA 76.67
3 Yuzuki JPN 71.67
4 Larisa Morales MEX 63.33
Semi Finals Heat #: 03
1 Tarah Mikacich USA 85.00
2 Marquardt, Melissa USA 71.67
3 Meagan Ethell USA 68.00
4 Rumi Matsuura JPN 60.00
Pro Men
Quarter Finals Heat #: 01
1 Dean Smith AUS 71.67
2 Tony Carroll USA 67.33
3 Gus Shuler USA 54.67
4 Gunnar Shuler USA 43.33
Quarter Finals Heat #: 02
1 Massi Piffaretti ITL 85.33
2 Jefferson Langley USA 80.67
3 Tony Lacconi AUS 68.33
4 Hiromichi Aoki JPN 33.33
Quarter Finals Heat #: 03
1 Toshiki Yasui JPN 85.00
2 Daniel Powers USA 80.00
3 Nari JPN 66.67
4 Danny Thollander USA 60.00
Quarter Finals Heat #: 04
1 Derome, Raph CDN 83.33
2 Stephen Pierce USA 75.67
3 Shota Tezuka JPN 74.00
4 Yuu JPN 28.33
Quarter Finals Heat #: 05
1 Cory Teunissen AUS 81.67
2 Parker Siegele AUS 71.67
3 Pierce Homsey USA 46.67
4 Shutaro JPN 33.33
Quarter Finals Heat #: 06
1 Oli Derome CDN 85.00
2 Steel Lafferty USA 70.00
3 Isei Asada JPN 65.00
4 Josh Twelker USA 60.00
5 Shinnosuke Noguchi JPN 50.00
