To attack or respect, the riders in round seven of the FIM Motocross World Championship were forced to decide as the sun baked clay sculpted their stage here in Talavera de la Reina, dictating line selection and demanding a combination of both mental and physical strength.

Both proving to have returned to their expected form, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings dominated their respective races to claim victory at the MXGP of Spain in perfect score style.

Desalle took a stand today proving he’s still a real player in this game. The Belgian looked more aggressive than he has of late, getting off to two great starts and going on to lead every lap from start to finish for his first ever FIM Motocross World Championship win in Spain, as well as his first perfect score of the season.

The podium almost wouldn’t look right without Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek as he makes himself the most consistent podium placer in the MXGP class this season.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos fought hard from an average start in race one to take a hard fought fourth. After making a change to his bike to help with the start in race two, the Belgian got the holeshot and rode solid to make the podium a complete Belgian domination for the second time this year.

The saying goes ‘championships are not won on your good days, but on your bad days’, which can be said for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli as he looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable out on the roasted clay, but with fourth place being the result of a bad day, the Italian continues to lead the championship by 24 points.

After having some big falls already this year like the one at Arco di Trento and then again two weeks ago in Valkenswaard, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Steven Frossard is happy to have kept his KXF450 on two wheels this weekend to bring home a solid fifth.

For the majority of this season in MX2, Herlings has been claiming he’s lacking on-bike training and therefore is not as dominant as he has been in the past. After today’s performance on a surface which is the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the sand of Valkenswaard, it is almost safe to say now he is back and he means business.

CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s young Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis put his hard pack knowledge to good use this weekend utilizing a smooth and solid riding style to bring home two consistent third place finishes for second overall for the second time this year.

Meanwhile his CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy teammate Arnaud Tonus did exactly what he needed to do here in race one, riding his own pace to take second.

Persistent is one word that sums up Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre. The young French star on the rise fought tooth and nail this weekend, which left him face first in the dirt a couple of times. Nevertheless the youngsters never give up attitude kept him moving forward which rewarded him with fourth overall.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier can’t get the monkey off his back this year. While the Frenchman had moments of greatness where he looked at home and on the move around the hilly circuit in Talavera, a few costly mistakes forced him backwards in both races leaving him in fifth overall.

It was heartbreak for KTM Silver Actions local Jose Butrón after he caused a 35-minute fence line fiesta when he snapped up the holeshot and led the best part of race two. After throwing his heart on the table to bring a podium home for his frenzy of screaming fans, the Spaniard appeared to have second place already in his pocket when he made an error over the back of the track and dropped back to sixth with a gut-wrenching quarter of a lap to go.

Making his MX2 comeback, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Christophe Charlier, who qualified an outstanding third place yesterday, crashed twice in race one and only managed to salvage 12th, but bounced back strong in race two to come home in eighth.

Although the return from injury could have been better, Charlier is satisfied with his results and progress from today, and is now looking forward to the next round of MXGP in two weeks time at Matterley Basin in Great Britain.

Australian champion Luke Styke (KEMEA Yamaha) scored a career-best moto finish with 11th in race one, however 21st in the second outing after his bike stopped dropped him to 17th overall. He also sits 17th in the championship standings.

2014 MXGP World Championship
Round seven – Talavera de la Reina, Spain

MXGP overall results:
1. Clement Desalle 50
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek 40
3. Kevin Strijbos 38
4. Antonio Cairoli 37
5. Steven Frossard 36
6. Xavier Boog 26
7. David Philippaerts 24
8. Tyla Rattray 24
9. Jake Nicholls 23
10. Joel Roelants 22

MXGP championship standings:
1. Antonio Cairoli 304
2. Clement Desalle 280
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek 276
4. Kevin Strijbos 220
5. Gautier Paulin 205
6. Maximilian Nagl 166
7. Steven Frossard 142
8. Evgeny Bobryshev 136
9. Joel Roelants 134
10. Xavier Boog 134
13. Todd Waters (AUS) 107

MX2 overall results:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 50
2. Dylan Ferrandis 40
3. Arnaud Tonus 38
4. Romain Febvre 34
5. Jordi Tixier 30
6. Jose Butron 28
7. Tim Gajser 26
8. Julien Lieber 25
9. Petar Petrov 23
10. Christophe Charlier 22
17. Luke Styke (AUS) 10

MX2 championship standings:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 294
2. Arnaud Tonus 267
3. Romain Febvre 232
4. Dylan Ferrandis 225
5. Jordi Tixier 215
6. Glenn Coldenhoff 176
7. Tim Gajser 171
8. Aleksandr Tonkov 170
9. Jose Butron 159
10. Valentin Guillod 153
17. Luke Styke (AUS) 55

Click here for detailed results