Charlie Mullins is locked in a close battle for the 2013 GNCC championship. However, he along with several other GNCC regulars made the trip to Italy last week to compete in the International Six Days Enduro where he logged an impressive performance and even finished as top American 2 out of 6 days of racing. We caught up with Charlie to talk about the ISDE, the rest of the 2013 GNCC season and more.

GNCCRacing.com: Hey Charlie, how's it going today?
Charlie Mullins: It’s been going really well. Just finished riding some trials bikes today and now getting ready to eat some dinner.  Been a good day.

So are you recovered from the ISDE yet?
Yeah I’m doing well now. Still a little jet lagged though.

Give everyone a rundown of how it went for you.
It was ok for me. I had a couple good days and a couple bad days. Overall we were able to get 2nd overall as a team, which was the first time that has happened in 30 years, so that was really cool. I was able to finish in the top 10 overall individually as well.

A lot of people don't really know what kind of format the ISDE runs, so as a racer, how would you explain it?
It’s basically a big dual sport ride with 6 special test somewhere along the trail.  The special tests range from 5-10 minutes so they are really short and sprint speed is key.

What's the toughest part of coming from the GNCC and National Enduro format, then trying to adjust to the ISDE format?
The European spec tires you have to run are a big issue, and just being able to read grass tracks really well is pretty tough sometimes too. It’s basically the total opposite what we race here in the states.

But obviously it still worked pretty good for you!
Yeah, doing Germany last year helped me a lot to be more prepared and know what to expect this year.

So how did it feel to finish as Top American on days 3 and 6?
It was good, but Taylor [Robert] pretty much had us covered all week.

What was your biggest highlight of this year's ISDE?
Finishing uninjured so I can focus on the GNCC’s (laughs)

Do you plan to do six days again in years to come?
Yeah I plan on doing it for the next couple years.

How about being the highest finishing American GNCC racer, how's that feel?
It was cool but I really don’t analyze stuff like that.

So now you're back to business with GNCC though, what are your hopes for this weekend?
I plan on putting in a solid ride and going after the win

You and Kailub Russell are still super close, what would it take to come away with the championship?
I need wins if I want to win this thing, and I’m going to give it 100% to the finish.

You've already wrapped up this year's National Enduro title as well so you've had a pretty great season there but tell us a little more about how it went.
The enduros went really well for me this year. I had some stiff competition but I was able to stay consistent and get a lot of wins to wrap it up. It was a big relief and weight off my shoulders.  I’m looking forward to defending it next year.

There's 1 more National Enduro left as well, with that title wrapped up are you going to play it safe and save yourself for The Ironman, or go for another win?
I’m going there to race and try to get another win. I feel I’m more at risk if I go and just ride around, because you tend to be not as focused. I’d like to get a win and hopefully win the bounty money.

Alright, before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank?
FMF/KTM Off-Road, Factory Services Engines, Renthal, Dunlop, Parts Unlimited, Thor, Scott, Chuck, my wife Rachel and my son Cooper, Antti and my dad.