As the top two finishers in the Bukit Trials, Lana and Gobleg earned wildcard berths into the main event and the chance to compete for $10,000 in prize money. They will join 30 of the world’s best tube riders at Padang Padang when an ideal swell prompts contest directors to run the 2012 Rip Curl Cup, any day between now and August 26th.

The twelve surfers from Bali’s famed Bukit Peninsula competing in the trials were met with a solid new swell pouring into the Uluwatu reef on Tuesday morning. Solid 6 to 8 foot sets were thundering through The Peak and Racetrack during the morning high tide, and later at Outside Corner as the tide dropped out. The 12 trialists were divided into two six-man heats, each lasting one hour. The top three placing surfers in each heat then advanced to a six-man Final, also lasting one hour.

Line Up at Uluwatu

In the Final it was Lana who stole the show and first place. The iconic goofyfooter stroked into a pair of solid eight footers and laid down his trademark deep bottom turns and vicious backside snaps under the lip. After his second long ride, which saw him kick out nearly halfway to Padang, Lana decided to paddle in to the beach with 15 minutes still remaining in the Final. He returned to the judging area set up at The Edge (Lana’s infamous bar on the cliff at Uluwatu), and was met with a roar of cheers and applause from the several hundred spectators gathered in the warungs.

“It’s an honor to make it back to the Padang Cup,” Lana said after receiving his ticket to the main event in front of a crowd gathered on the rooftop of The Edge bar. “The swell looks like it’s going to be good all this week, so hopefully we’ll get to surf Padang when it’s on. I don’t worry about swell forecasts, I just show up to the beach every day and see what the ocean is doing. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Gobleg and Made Lana

Gobleg meanwhile was also in blazing form, schooling the younger Bukit surfers in the art power surfing on his way to a second place finish. In his first heat Gobleg started off slow, pulling into a pair of closeout barrels through the Racetrack section. Then he moved over to Outside Corner and proceeded to catch the two biggest bombs of the trials back to back, gouging and hooking the unruly sections and throwing buckets of spray. He would earn an 8.83 and a 6.83, and combo the rest of the surfers in his heat. Gobleg was the only surfer to score a double-digit heat score in both his heats.

Although they were unable to take down their elders, the next generation of Bukit surfers proved that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Third place finisher Gesit gave the masters a run for their money in the final, surfing with speed and flair on the heaving Outside Corner walls, and Koki, who finished fourth, also surfed impressively, making it out of one particularly nice barrel in the final.

“I’m proud of all the local boys who came out today and went for it,” said Gobleg. “It was difficult out there today. There was a lot of current and a lot of wind and chop. But all the boys were charging. Uluwatu was well represented today.”

2012 Rip Curl Cup Trials Results:

Final
1st Made Lana* 17.16
2nd Gobleg* 15.16
3rd Gesit 11.20
4th Koki 9.20
5th Teko 8.40
6th Dag Dag 7.6

Semi Final 1
1st Gobleg 15.66
2nd Gesit 9.59
3rd Koki 6.46
4th Blacky 6.13
5th Koko Mitsua 4.96
6th Manik 1.10

Semi Final 2
1st Made Lana 9.06
2nd Teko 8.22
3rd Dag Dag 7.76
4th Alik 7.0
5th Tumbling 5.43
6th Loco 4.66

*Earn local wildcard spots in 2012 Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang

Watch All the Action
You don’t have to be in Bali to see the best barrel-riding show of the year. Check the Rip Curl Cup website to see the official event status and find out when “It’s On.” On contest day, Padang Cup fans around the world can watch round by round video highlights on the site. Also check the website for in-depth interviews with all the invited surfers and daily video features on all the hottest surfing, parties and happening in Bali during the waiting period. See it all at www.RipCurl.com.