Red Bull Wake Open: Boat
The much anticipated Red Bull Wake Open kicked off today with the boat event at one of the sickest private lakes known to man. With helicopters buzzing around, TV crews shooting everything, and the brand new Malibu Wakesetter MXZ bringing the heat, the event went off in a way only Red Bull can make happen. Riders came ready to rumble, and with the special format of this boat event, there was some intense riding. Each rider was given two passes to throw down their five best tricks, but one of the tricks had to be a 360 or less, and while falls didn’t “hurt” a rider’s score, a pass with no falls was obviously favored.
Winners winners
After four heats of five riders went through the qualifying round, the semifinals were broken into two heats of four riders each. The top two riders from each heat were then sent into a four-man final. Each rider in the final was given a double up at the end of their two passes, regardless of how many falls they had.
Semifinal 1:
- Harley Clifford
- Adam Errington
- Danny Harf
- Steel Lafferty
Semifinal 2:
- Rusty Malinoski
- Raph Derome
- Phil Soven
- Shane Bonifay
Finals:
- Harley Clifford
- Rusty Malinoski
- Raph Derome
- Adam Errington
The final four riders brought out their best tricks in an attempt to make the podium and put themselves in the lead going into the rest of the weekend’s events. For most of these guys taking home a title like the Red Bull Wake Open champion would be a serious feather in their cap. Never before has there been an event as large, legit, and all-encompassing as the Wake Open, so all the riders are bringing their A-games. Stay tuned to alliancewake.com for more coverage and be sure to tune into NBC Saturday at 1:00 PM EST to watch the park event live.
