By Jeff McTainsh
Four time national surfing champion Maz Quinn has cleaned up at the Billabong Pro in Whangamata – the second stopover on the five round national series.
The win moves Quinn from 13th place to outright first in the standings.
“After a disappointing start in Gizzy I was pretty stoked,” he says.
“Just seemed to be in the right place, right time out there. Got a really nice board and I was just feeling good strong and locked into the good ones.”
Quinn’s experience paid off in the final, locking in a score of 15 out of a possible 20 points.
The 34-year-old once surfed with the world’s best on the Pro tour, but now he’s switching his focus to the national series and looking to add to his four national titles – the last he received was in 2006.
“I’ll be quite happy to travel around the North Island, do the series, and hopefully get a win,” he says.
If the home breaks aren’t enough to motivate him, sibling rivalry could be – his younger brother Jay Quinn, bowed out in the semis at Whangamata.
“I’ve got one up over him, but I think he wants to do it again. We’ll see, if his sponsors step up and give him some coin,” says Quinn.
He will continue his assault on the national series when the third event gets underway in Raglan later this month.
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