FMF KTM’s Charlie Mullins has set into a favourable two-race win streak in the title chase for the 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series.

Mullins holds the largest points margin of the season, now commanding FMF Makita Suzuki’s Josh Strang by 17 points. But 30 points are available for a GNCC race-win and there are still four points-paying events left in the series.

The 13-race circuit heads to St. Clairsville, Ohio, for round 11 in the ITP Power Line Park GNCC, where riders will experience tight woods, plenty of mud and rock-based soil throughout the course.

On the surface, it may look like Mullins has the championship in the bag, but there’s still plenty of room for Strang, the defending champion, to emerge with four races left in the season.

The 2011 season has been defined by huge swings in the standings, with all of the top riders experiencing bad racing luck throughout the rough and tumble series.

Expect the championship title to go down to the finale doubleheader at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in November.

Australia’s Strang salvaged class points after a first-lap crash sent him out of the running, just two rounds before at Unadilla. The bad luck continued in Pennsylvania as Strang fell out of the early lead-battle when he was forced to stop and repair his brake caliper mid-race.

The Aussie has a strong-willed reputation when it comes to racing and a second championship is clearly on his mind.