Image: Ray Archer.

Report: MXlarge.com.

It was obvious the weather gods were out to redeem themselves today, offering peace with their fine display of blue sky and sunshine.

Thanks to the endless hours spent on the track last night, moving mud and fixing jumps, the circuit of Matterley Basin was primed and ready for round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship which fell perfectly into the hands of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s duo of champions Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings.

Click here for video highlights from the round.

Cairoli put on a brave face this weekend after losing a person he considers to be the most important figure in his life, his father. Cairoli lined up today with an angel on his shoulder and used that same strength that has made him seven-time world champion to take his fifth overall victory of the season.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle gets kudos for actually finding his edge today. Had the 25-year-old Belgian not of washed the front end at speed in race one, the overall could have been completely different.

Nevertheless, bent bars and all he managed to salvage fourth and then went on to make a statement in race two when he got off to a good start and knuckled down to take home an unchallenged win. A combination of fourth and first place scores landed the Belgian in second overall.

Introducing MXGP’s Mr. Consistency, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek continues to keep up his podium appearances with a pair of thirds for third overall.
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Fourth overall equates a season best result for Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray who battled his way from a bad start in race one to take home eighth. Out for redemption in race two, the South African got off to a much better start up in fourth and that’s where he would remain.

After attempting his return to the gates in Valkenswaard, where he opted to forfeit after warm-up on Sunday, it seems the extra couple of weeks of training have done a world of good for the fan favorite CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Tommy Searle. The Brit re-established himself as a top five rider with his fifth and sixth place scores for fifth overall.

Although he’s technically Scottish, MXGP of Great Britain still feels like a home GP for Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Shaun Simpson who qualified second in the slop yesterday. Disappointingly today, the Scotsman could only put together a ninth and a sixth for seventh overall ahead of Great Britain Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Jake Nicholls.

As for race one runner-up Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Steven Frossard, he was a victim of a first turn crash in race two which forced him out of the race.

The run-away train of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings is clearly set to full steam ahead with the nineteen-year old nicknamed ‘The Bullet’ soaring to yet another convincing double victory in MX2.

“I really enjoyed racing out here today,” Herlings said. “The British fans are some of the best in the world, they are awesome and I felt like I got a lot of respect from them this year which was really cool.”

CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus matched the lap time of Herlings in race two and kept the Dutchman honest for the first quarter of a moto. A plausible second place finish in that race combined with a bad start in race one which saw him rebound for fifth, still was enough for a respectable second overall.

Honda Gariboldi’s youngster Tim Gajser, 17, reached a milestone in his career today in Matterley Basin, putting in two impressive top five finishes, a fourth and a third, for third over all and his first ever FIM MX2 World Championship podium finish.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier took a hard fought fourth overall. The French vice-world champion was pushing it to the limit in race one which helped him pull off second place. An average start in race two saw the youngster struggle his way forward to fifth.

Glued to the list of MX2 top fivers, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre brawled his way to an eighth and fourth respectively for fifth overall.

Australian champion Luke Styke rode his KEMEA Yamaha to 16th overall, scoring 15th across both motos for a total of 12 points aboard his YZ250F.

2014 MXGP World Championship
Round eight – Matterley Basin, UK

MXGP results:
1. Antonio Cairoli 47
2. Clement Desalle 43
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek 40
4. Tyla Rattray 31
5. Tommy Searle 31
6. Kevin Strijbos 30
7. Shaun Simpson 27
8. Jake Nicholls 26
9. Steven Frossard 22
10. David Philippaerts 20

MXGP championship standings:
1. Antonio Cairoli 351
2. Clement Desalle 323
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek 316
4. Kevin Strijbos 250
5. Paulin 205
6. Gautier Nagl 166
7. Steven Frossard 164
8. Shaun Simpson 159
9. Joel Roelants 153
10. Xavier Boog 145
17. Todd Waters (AUS) 107

MX2 overall results:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 50
2. Arnaud Tonus 38
3. Tim Gajser 38
4. Jordi Tixier 38
5. Romain Febvre 31
6. Aleksandr Tonkov 27
7. Jose Butron 25
8. Damon Graulus 23
9. Dylan Ferrandis 23
10. Jeremy Seewer 20
16. Luke Styke (AUS) 12

MX2 championship standings:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 344
2. Arnaud Tonus 305
3. Romain Febvre 263
4. Jordi Tixier 253
5. Dylan Ferrandis 248
6. Tim Gajser 209
7. Aleksandr Tonkov 197
8. Jose Butron 184
9. Glenn Coldenhoff 176
10. Valentine Guillod 173
17. Luke Styke (AUS) 67

Click here for detailed results