This year, the duo of former national champion Mike Brown and surf star Josh Sleigh dominated the moto day. Brownie and Sleigh got out to early leads in both motos and were never really challenged. The next-best team included surfing legend Sunny Garcia and a washed-up, old moto journalist who puts out fires now; that would be me. Garcia and Sleigh had a good battle for a couple laps, but we couldn't match the pace of the leaders. We finished 2-2 behind their 1-1, and the duo of Ryan Sakal and Justin Mulford rounded out the pro podium on moto day. The guys from Stance hosted a barbecue after the motos finished, and there may or may not have been a few beers consumed. Things didn't get too wild, though, because the surfing started early the next day.

There are two things that can make or break this event. One is a track that has unforgiving obstacles that get the surfers hurt. There have been a couple incidents in the past where really good surfers who were WCT guys got hurt and missed contests. That is no bueno for them or their sponsors or anybody involved. This year, the track was prepped with safety in mind, and, to my knowledge, not one person was physically injured. The same can't be said for feeling or egos, but that's how it goes. The other thing that makes it or breaks it is the surf conditions the second day. About ten years ago there was a pretty big swell that came through, and most of the motocross guys couldn't even get out past the breakers to the lineup. The pro surf guys had fun, but the dirt bike dorks were crapping their pants all day, and it spoiled the vibe a little bit.

As soon as we crested the hill that drops down to Trail 6 in San Onofre, I knew it was going to be a great day. The sun was shining and the water was glassy with nice little rollers coming through. It was small, but there were waves, and that meant everybody could catch something. Guys like South Africa's Dylan Lightfoot, Josh Sleigh, Kalani Robb, and Sunny Garcia were ripping and putting on a show for those on the beach. Watching those guys from the lineup is even better; you just see them building speed as they work down the line and occasionally snap a turn off the lip, sending a shower of water off the back of the wave. I caught myself watching those guys ride waves in instead of looking for one myself.

The industry class was busy battling for the coveted overall, and in the end it was the duo of Ryan Fedorow and Terry Beal who snagged the overall. Both guys are really rooted in the moto world, so we'll just call that a win for our side.

When the pro surf final was all said and done, the results were closer than they'd ever been. In fact, there was a three-way tie for the overall. Brown/Sleigh finished 1-6, Pingree/Garcia went 2-5, and Sakal/Mulford finished 3-4, which left each team with 3 points. Any time there is a tie, your best overall result from either day is used to break the tie, and that meant Brownie and Josh Sleigh had both won their first Surfercross event. Sunny and I finished second, with Sakal and Mulford in third. Trophies were handed out, a little friendly trash talk was shouted back and forth, and then the EZ Ups started getting torn down until next summer.

The talk right away was that this was the best Surfercross that they'd ever had. The vibe was good and the support from companies like Toyota, Stance, Fox, and Oakley was incredible. All of those companies brought out product for riders to use, gave away bags of swag, and helped offset the cost of the event. I know Jeremy Albrecht and his wife don't make any money doing this, and I know it is a long, stressful ordeal for them, but I hope they know how much fun this is for all of us who get to meet up once a year and ride and surf together. It truly is one of the best events of the year. Thanks to Jeremy and all of the sponsors for supporting an amazing event.

OVERALL LEADER BOARD (PRO DIVISION)

				MOTO 1	MOTO 2	MOTO	OVERALL	OVERALL	COMBINED
Place	Surfer	Moto	#	Place	Place	1 & 2	MOTO	SURF	PLACINGS
1st	Josh Sleigh	Mike Brown	3	1	1	2	1	6	7
2nd	Sunny Garcia	David Pingree	1	2	2	4	2	5	7
3rd	Ryan Sakal	Justin Mulford	4	3	4	7	4	3	7
4th	Dylan Lightfoot	Bilko	6	10	15	25	12	1	13
5th	Tanny Waite	Chris Fillmore	22	6	8	14	6	7	13
6th	Brandon Tipton	Craig Monty	23	4	3	7	3	14	17
7th	Mark Gabriel	Tiana Falls	7	5	6	11	5	13	18
8th	David Kuwada	Justin Lee	10	20	14	34	18	2	20
9th	Addison Giddings	Dan Pastor	12	16	16	32	16	4	20
10th	Steve Clark	Riley Harper	16	9	11	20	10	11	21
10th	Kalani Robb	Ivan Tedesco	9	19	10	29	13	8	21
12th	Mikey Nieson	Dakota Tedder	59	11	12	23	11	12	23
13th	Brian Daigneault	Dave Castillo	24	7	9	16	8	17	25
14th	Zack Marks	Jeff Matiasevich	11	8	7	15	7	19	26
15th	Pops	Bryan McGavam	15	12	5	17	9	20	29
15th	Uloses Thomas	Michael Sleeter	111	14	20	34	19	10	29
15th	Brad Ettinger	Sara Price	78	18	17	35	20	9	29
18th	Joe Stauffer	Vinnie Carbone	13	17	13	30	14	16	30
18th	Corey Landvogt	Grant Langston	8	15	18	33	15	15	30
20th	Brooke Daigneault	Colton Udall	5	13	19	32	17	18	35

OVERALL LEADER BOARD (INDUSTRY DIVISION)

				MOTO 1	MOTO 2	MOTO	OVERALL	OVERALL	COMBINED
			#	Place	Place	1 & 2	MOTO	SURF	PLACINGS
1st	Ryan Federow	Terry Beal	4	6	3	9	4	3	7
2nd	Mark Kalp	Todd Cram	12	8	8	16	7	5	12
3rd	Brett Dimanno	Shawn Heit	8	4	5	9	5	8	13
4th	Curt Biegel	Chris Fischetti	18	9	7	16	8	6	14
5th	Alvin Zalamea	Paul Fitz-Gibbins	20	3	2	5	3	13	16
6th	Brad Cameron	Jonathan Murphy	24	12	9	21	10	7	17
7th	Chris Siebenhaar	Matt Collins	19	17	16	33	16	2	18
8th	Josiah Damm	Ford Heit	5	2	1	3	1	18	19
8th	Patrick Lopez	John Simanovich	28	1	4	5	2	17	19
10th	Tony Martinez	Pete Martini	17	13	12	25	12	9	21
10th	Tom Harper	Henderson	14	18	17	35	17	4	21
12th	Jarrod Merrell	Tony Deadrea	13	5	6	11	6	16	22
12th	Tommy Bonacci	Swindell	6	11	14	25	13	10	23
14th	Ron Burnett	Dov Ribnick	15	23	23	46	23	1	24
15th	James Foster	Josh Shorter	9	15	13	28	14	11	25
16th	Kyle Bently	Rich Waite	26	14	15	29	15	12	27
17th	Mike Berni	Dominic Gayton	7	7	10	17	9	22	31
17th	Damon Conkright	Scott Dimick	3	10	11	21	11	20	31
19th	Kevin Brabosa	Billy Brown	11	16	22	38	19	14	33
20th	Tim Burandi	Doug Swinggum	27	21	19	40	21	15	36
21st	Brandon Polfer	Eddie Casillas	2	19	18	37	18	23	41
21st	Frankie Garcia	Chris Gonzales	10	20	20	40	20	21	41
21st	Eveho Suarez	Mike Emery	16	22	21	43	22	19	41