Following a second-place finish during round 12 of the GNCC series yesterday at Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, Ohio, JCR Honda racer Trevor Bollinger was crowned 2016 XC2 Champion with one race still remaining. The North Carolinian has dominated the XC2 season aboard his CRF250R, topping eight rounds so far and bringing Honda its first GNCC title since Honda legend Scott Summers earned his fifth overall crown in 1997.

Through 2013, JCR Honda earned near-mythical status in the off-road world by regularly dominating the SCORE series, but this is only the team's third season in GNCC. The switch from desert racing in Baja to woods competition in the Eastern U.S. presented a huge challenge, and the squad started small in 2014, fielding XC1 rider Chris Bach in a one-rider effort and working to learn as much as possible. Last year saw Bach earn JCR's first GNCC race victory, and Bollinger was added to the roster this season to campaign the XC2 division. In addition to clinching the XC2 title a round early, Bollinger sits in third place in the overall Pro class points standings.

"You always want to believe you can win, but if you'd have told me before the season that I'd win eight races, I probably wouldn't have believed it," said Bollinger, 21. "I've been racing GNCC full-time since 2009, but having the support of JCR Honda this year has helped me to focus on riding and not worry about getting the bikes ready. I had a good points lead going into the summer break, and since then I've taken the approach of going for the win if I'm riding well enough, but just shooting for a good finish otherwise. I knew that fourth place at this race would've clinched the championship, but of course you always want to do as well as possible. I'm really happy to bring home the championship."

JCR owner Johnny Campbell said that he was also impressed by Bollinger's performance this season. "Just judging by his results last year and where he was mentally, I expected Trevor to be the key guy in that class, but things have gone even a little better than I expected," Campbell said. "Once we got him on good, reliable equipment, it took so much of the guesswork out of it for him, and he has been able to take advantage of his talents and showcase what he and the brand are both capable of. It's great that we were able to accomplish the goal of securing a national championship, and now the plan is to use that as a stepping stone to winning the XC1 Championship."

The GNCC series finale is scheduled for October 30 in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

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