J&R Bicycles Puerto Rico Report

“For the second year in a row J&R bicycles made a showing at the NBL National in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. This time around J&R President Kirk Morrison brought down Rookie sensation Mike Kappes. Last year Jason Bennet who was also a rookie A pro made the trip, however Bennet is currently in Africa shooting for a reality tv show and couldnt make the trip. Kappes knew he had some big shoes to fill as last year Bennet won both days of racing from start to finish. Not one to back down from a challenge Kappes came to Puerto Rico ready to do battle with the rest of the Super X riders.”"On day 1 Kappes took care of business in all rounds and took the win with a pretty nice lead. As the racing got underway on day 2 Kappes was already ahead in the payout department winning $400 at the Black Jack tables the night before. Wanting to add even more money to his Black Jack winnings Kappes focused his efforts on the track and not on the dancing girls at the top of the starting hill. Kappes lead practically every lap on day 2 and when the racing was done he was once again the over all winner in the Super X class. Day 1 Racing Rounds 2 & 3 Kappes comes out with a great snap and hole shot into turn 1. Owens tucks in behind Kappes down the second straight and stays on Kappes. Over the pro section and down the last straight Kappes still has to lead and takes the win with Owens in 2nd. Kappes gets snapped out by Ronald Vega but puts down some ponies down the first straight and takes the lead. Down the second straight Kappes still has good lead and Owens tucks in for 2nd. Kirk Morrison serves the Puerto Rico Riders As with last year Kirk Morrison brought 3 full large bags of product to sell to the Puerto Rican riders. All three bags were over weight and Kirk had to fork out $80 to the airline just so they would accept his bags. Not even an hour into the trip and Kirk was already down a few bucks. Knowing that there are very few bike shops in Puerto Rico that carry BMX products he figured he would be able to cover this $80 deficit. Not to mention a few hours at the black jack and poker tables would hopefully be profitable. Wanting to help out the local racers by bringing down what every racer needs tubes, tires, helmets, gears, etc. he wasnt to worried about making a profit. As long as the trip paid for itself it was all good. The very first customer for the Miniature J&R vending area was Mr. Robbie Miranda. The sale was small, just an inner tube. However Kirk already felt like he helped out a fellow BMXer by having what that rider needed to be able to enjoy the excellent track. Where else was Robbie going to get an inner tube in Barceloneta. Many racers stopped by to check out the goods that Kirk had and a few people picked up some much needed parts. Even after Uncle Bob picked up the vending few on the 27 moto race Kirk still felt as though the trip was worth it just to help out the racers. It’s a WRAP All in all the race was lots of fun and the J&R crew had a great time. Kirk Morrison said that the NBL Puerto Rico national is the Best little race that no one knows about. J&R would like to thank Carlos Diaz, Angel Perez, Pucho, and the rest of the Puerto Rican riders/organizers for putting on such a fun event. Mike Kappes would like to thank the Puerto Rican casino companies for allowing him to win some money. He would also like to thank the rest of the Super X class for showing up and making for some great racing action. J&R would like to thank their 2007 Sponsors”