Ben’s in Good Form

20th October 2009

After being to Tressels, France and Spain, Ben is just about at the end of the European leg of the tour. Currently sitting in 22nd place going into the event about to start in Portugal for the RipCurl Pro Search . Ben is hoping to secure his place in the tour for next year with a good result. After a slow start to the year due to an ankle injury Ben has been in good form throughout the European leg with his best result for the year being a 5th place in France . Ben took out Chris Ward (USA) in the 2nd rd, Fred Patacchia (HAW) in rd 3, then CJ Hobgood in Rd 4 to progress to the quarter finals where he was narrowly beaten by Bede Durbidge.

Check out Ben’s new Blogs. After each event he is putting up some photos and information about each event to keep you informed of what’s happening on the tour.

Ben's Back!

12 December, 2008

After a long day of nailbiting, Aussie surfer Ben Dunn today discovered he had requalified for the 2009 ASP World Tour of surfing.

Dunn managed to hang on to 27th position in the end of year ratings when fellow Aussie Dean Morrison failed to gain the 9th place finished required to knock Ben off the prestigious World Tour.

At the end of the day it was 9 time World Champion, Kelly Slater (USA), who weaved his magic once again to take the Pipeline Masters crown capping off a magic year that included 6 contest wins and a World Title.

France is good for Dunn

28 Sept, 2008

Ben Dunn continued his good form in France this week with an opening round win over 2007 Rookie of the Year, Jeremy Flores, and Leonardo Neves.

Ben's opening round win meant he skipped round 2 before facing off against exciting American surfer Chris Ward in round 3. What was expected to be a tight tussle, turned out to be a one-sided affair with the in-form Dunn taking the heat 14.00 points to Ward's 7.84.

This meant a round 4 showdown with the highly ranked goofy foot surfer Bobby Martinez. Both surfers showed great form in this heat but it was Martinez who got the nod from the judges taking the heat 14.66 points to Dunn's 12.00.

Following the heat, Dunn said, "Obviously I'm a bit dissappointed to not take out that heat and progress, but at the same time, I'm happy with a 9th place finish. It's been my best result from the last few contests so hopefully I can take this form into Mundaka and do even better there".

Dunny on the Money

3 August, 2008

Exciting Rip Curl surfer, Ben Dunn, has finished 5th in the Rip Curl Search event in Bali, Indonesia.

Dunn surfed with amazing speed and flair, knocking out Heitor Alves, Jeremy Flores and Mikael Pikon before going down to an in-form Bruce Irons, who went on to take out the event.

It was a much needed result for Dunn who has struggled with 17th, 33rd, 17th and 33rd place finishes from the past 4 events after his handy 9th at the season opening Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast.

“This result has given me great confidence to climb further up the ratings, where I feel I belong”, said Dunn.

Dunn’s 5th in Indonesia leaves him ranked 22nd in the world, with the next 2 events to be held at 2 of his favourite locations in Trestles (USA) and Hossegor (France).

Solid Start for Dunn

5th March 2008

Second year World Championship Tour surfer, Ben Dunn, has made a solid start to 2008 with an equal 9th place finish at the ASP World Tour’s season opener, the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks, Queensland.

Dunn finished 2nd in his round 1 heat to Taylor Knox and narrowly defeated WCT rookie Jay Thompson.

In his round 2 heat, Dunn squared off against South African, Travis Logie, and despite the lack of quality waves managed to win the heat 12.07 to Logie’s 8.50.

Round 3 was a showdown with follow countryman, Tom Whitaker, and with some precise surfing in better quality waves, Dunn grabbed the win 15.33 to Whitaker’s 10.83.

In round 4 Dunn was matched against 2007 runner up Bede Durbidge. In this heat it was Durbidge who displayed the better wave selection to take the heat 15.73 to 10.17.

Dunn’s round 4 exit meant he earned himself an equal 9th place finish. “I’m just stoked to have my knee back to full strength and get through a few heats” Dunn said following his loss in round 4. “I have worked really hard in the off-season and feel like I have completely recovered from my knee surgery late last year. I’m really looking forward to the next few events and hopefully ending up at the pointy end of the ratings by the end of the year.”

The Quiksilver Pro 2008 was eventually won by 8 time World Champion Kelly Slater from the USA in a high scoring affair ahead of defending event and World Champion Mick Fanning from the Gold Coast.

Dunn Receives ASP Injury Wildcard

22 December, 2007

Former 2 time World Junior Champion and Australasian Pro Junior Series Champion, Ben Dunn, this week received the news he had been waiting for over the past 2 months. The news was that he had been awarded an injury wildcard to retain his spot on the Fosters ASP World Tour in 2008.

Dunn missed the last 2 events of the year in Brazil and Hawaii and struggled through the previous 2 events in France and Spain after injuring his knee in a specialty event prior to the French contest. Upon returning home after the European leg of the tour, Ben immediately underwent surgery on his knee after advice from an orthopaedic surgeon.

Ben is making a solid recovery and will be raring to go by the time the first World Tour event kicks off on the Gold Coast in late February, and will be looking to showcase the impressive form he displayed at the start of the 2007 tour.

Ben Dunn Sidelined With Knee Injury

30 October, 2007

Emerging surfing superstar and Rip Curl rider, 21 year old Ben Dunn, has had his rookie year on the Fosters ASP World Tour cut short after injuring his knee in France last month.

Coming off an impressive quarter finals finish at the Trestles event in Southern California, Dunn headed to France to compete in the 7th stop on the Fosters ASP World Tour at Hossegor. As a prelim to the event, a specialty contest was staged called the “Kelly Slater Experiment”. On Dunn’s final move of his final wave of the event, he injured his knee, later discovered to be torn cartilage.

Having never suffered any real injuries in the past, the notoriously driven and competitive Dunn decided to soldier on at Hossegor, despite not being able to surf between heats due to the pain. As a result of his physical situation, Ben received equal 33rd placings at both the Hossegor event as well as the following event at Mundaka in Spain.

Upon arriving home to Australia from Europe, Dunn immediately went to see a prominent Orthopedic Surgeon who advised that he needed surgery. The Surgery was done the next day, where the extent of the torn cartilage was revealed. Ben is now having regular physiotherapy wasting no time in his rehabilitation process. However he now faces at least 6 weeks on the sidelines while his knee recovers and he builds up the strength to surf on it again.

The outcome for Dunn now is that he will most likely miss the last 2 events on the 2007 Fosters ASP World Tour and may need to apply to the ASP for an injury wildcard for next year’s tour. It’s an unfortunate end to a stellar rookie year that saw Dunn rated in the top 20 for most of the year. One thing’s for sure though, Ben will be working hard to make a quick recovery and will be back stronger and hungrier than ever next year, ready to consolidate his position as one of the world’s best competitive surfers.

Ben comes out even in Chile

1st July, 2007

Leading into the Chile event, world #15 Ben Dunn was keen to wash away his disappointing result in Tahiti and get a solid result to move him back into the top 10 of the Foster ASP Men's World Tour.

Round 1 saw Dunn taking on then world # 2 Taj Burrow and Hawaiian wildcard Kekoa Bacalso. In a close heat it was Bacalso who got the nod, pipping Dunn with a score of 13.67 to Dunn's 13.20 with Burrow finishing 3rd with 11.27.

In Round 2, Ben faced off against Troy Brooks whom he has surfed against in the last 3 contests. This time around it was Ben who came out the victor with a score of 12.00 ponts versus Troy's 10.16 and means he leads their head-to-head heats this year 2 to 1.

Ben's round 3 heat against Chris Ward was another nailbiter with Ben going down to the Californian 9.33 to 9.13. Ben's round 3 exit sees him remain in the same position in the ratings at #15, a position he is itching to improve.

The next stop on tour will be Jeffrey's Bay in South Africa, a wave that should suit Ben's style perfectly. Look out for a big result there.

Dunn in great form at Trestles

16th September 2007

Australian rookie sensation Ben Dunn scored his equal best result of the year by finishing a very respectable 5th at the Boost Mobile Pro at Lower Trestles in California yesterday. Dunn was pipped by less than a point in his quarter final clash against fellow Australian Tom Whitaker, but the result sees him move 2 places up the ratings to World number 19.

In earlier heats, Dunn disposed of Trent Munro and Danny Wills in their round 1 clash which meant he went straight through to round 3. Dunn then defeated fellow rookie Kai Otton in round 3 before facing off against giant killing wildcard Jordy Smith in round 4. Jordy had just come off beating Joel Parkinson and Andy Irons in rounds 2 and 3 respectively so this wasn’t going to be an easy one for Ben.

In this crucial heat, Dunn showed the cool head that has seen him dominate the junior ranks in over the past few years and qualify for the Fosters ASP World Tour in his first full year on the World Qualifying Series. In a low scoring heat due to inconsistent waves, Dunn took out the heat 9.67 points to Smith’s 7.40.

Waves Run Out at Bells

13 April, 2007

It was an up and down year for waves at this year’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, which saw round 1 completed at the Bells bowl before rounds 2 and 3 moved down to Johanna Beach. Johanna is 2 hours south west of Torquay, which is the preferred option for the contest when the swell gets too small for Bells.

In Ben’s round 1 heat at the bowl, he was pipped by Taj Burrow and Luke Munro which meant heading down the coast to Johanna for round 2. Ben faced off against Troy Brooks in his round 2 heat and took down the “ex-local” with 17.00 points versus Troy’s 13.00.

Round 3 was a dog-fight between 2 very inform rookies with Ben taking down Frenchman Jeremy Flores with 13.67 points to Jeremy’s 12.27 points in clean 4 foot waves.

With an increase in swell, round 4 was moved back to Bells and Ben faced 3 time World Champion Andy Irons. This was a wave starved heat to say the least, as reflected in the final scores of 8.94 to 4.70. Ben showed nerves of steel by waiting out the back for nearly half the heat for a high scoring wave, but his patience was never rewarded and it was the more active surfer, Any Irons, who came away with the win.

The loss to Andy meant a 9th place finish for Ben, which lands him at equal 6th in the world after 2 events on the 2007 Fosters ASP Men’s World Tour. Ben also remains the highest ranked rookie on tour.

Waves Run Out at Bells

13 April, 2007

It was an up and down year for waves at this year’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, which saw round 1 completed at the Bells bowl before rounds 2 and 3 moved down to Johanna Beach. Johanna is 2 hours south west of Torquay, which is the preferred option for the contest when the swell gets too small for Bells.

In Ben’s round 1 heat at the bowl, he was pipped by Taj Burrow and Luke Munro which meant heading down the coast to Johanna for round 2. Ben faced off against Troy Brooks in his round 2 heat and took down the “ex-local” with 17.00 points versus Troy’s 13.00.

Round 3 was a dog-fight between 2 very inform rookies with Ben taking down Frenchman Jeremy Flores with 13.67 points to Jeremy’s 12.27 points in clean 4 foot waves.

With an increase in swell, round 4 was moved back to Bells and Ben faced 3 time World Champion Andy Irons. This was a wave starved heat to say the least, as reflected in the final scores of 8.94 to 4.70. Ben showed nerves of steel by waiting out the back for nearly half the heat for a high scoring wave, but his patience was never rewarded and it was the more active surfer, Any Irons, who came away with the win.

The loss to Andy meant a 9th place finish for Ben, which lands him at equal 6th in the world after 2 events on the 2007 Fosters ASP Men’s World Tour. Ben also remains the highest ranked rookie on tour.

7th March, 2007 - Dunny is best rookie at Quiky Pro WCT

7th March, 2007

Ben was impressive in his first performance as a WCT regular. Ben bowed out in the quarter finals to an in form Taj Burrow, but his equal 5th place finish means he was the best performing rookie in the first CT of the year. Ben took the scalps of Cory Lopez, Victor Ribas, Damien Hobgood and Raoni Monteiro before falling to Taj. Ben is now looking forward to heading to Bells where he has won many times as a junior

Ben Dunn voted Hottest 100 Number 1 by ASL Magazine

Jan, 2007

Ben was awarded the ultimate honour for Australian junior surfers by being awarded the number 1 spot in ASL’s prestigious Hottest 100 competition. Ben was voted number 1 ahead of a high class field that included Wade Goodall (#2), Laurie Towner (#3), Julian Wilson (#4) and Dean Brady (#5).

20 year old Ben Dunn Qualifies for WCT

Oct, 2006

At just 20 years of age Australian Ben Dunn has confirmed his place on next years World Championship Tour (WCT). Ben is the youngest Australian qualifier since Mick Fanning 5 years earlier. Ben will now get his chance to take his polished surfing to surfing’s main stage and prove that he is one of the best surfers in the world.