Gas Gas USA’s Geoff Aaron clenched an unprecedented ninth national title with a win at round 10 of the AMA/NATC US National Trials Championship Series held in Highgate, Vermont on July 31.

Aaron came into the two-day New England event having won all but one of this year’s rounds and sported a healthy lead in the championship standings. The 33-year-old needed only to finish in the top five in Vermont to claim the title. South African Bruce le Riche and Chris Florin of Florida were the only riders with a mathematical chance of dethroning Aaron, but one or the other would need to win both days in Vermont and do the same the next week in New York and would still need something drastic to happen to Aaron in order to get it done. And with Aaron’s history over the last 12 years, chances were, that wasn’t going to happen.

For over a decade, Aaron has been the dominate rider in the NATC series and the well-spoken New Englander, turned Californian, has been one of the sports greatest promoters. And despite his domination, Aaron was humble about his achievement.

“Obviously, it feels great.” Aaron said of his ninth title. “I’m super excited to win another one. There are a couple of guys who are really pushing me like Bruce, Chris, Keith (Wineland) and Cody (Webb), so it feels good to accumulate as many wins as I can and keep this thing going against this kind of talent. It’s been a huge part of my life for the last several years and it feels good to achieve another championship.”

With a chance to close out the championship on Sunday in Vermont , Aaron wanted to come out strong and clinch the title with a win. The 33-year-old left nothing to chance during the opening lap and recorded the best loop score of the day with six marks. Fellow Gas Gas rider Chris Florin followed in second, another four points back, while Wineland, also on a Gas Gas, moved into the mix with a 16-point lap to occupy the third-place position, one point better than le Riche.

The second lap was disastrous for Aaron, as he dropped to third in the running after taking a pair of fives and a three in the sections, which were now starting to get more slippery. However, in typical Aaron form, a brilliant final lap moved him into a tie with Florin for the overall win. Aaron’s 24 cleans, verses 23 for Florin , gave him edge in the tie-breaker and the win. Florin finished second, while Wineland claimed the final step of the podium.

Aaron’s win and subsequent ninth title puts him in a class all by himself in US Trials history. The next most dominate rider was Ryan Young who closed out his career with six US titles.