FIM Motocross World Champions Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings claimed victory for Red Bull KTM in the Swedish round of the 2014 MXGP World Championship at Uddevalla, putting in dominating performances on the demanding circuit in both races to extend their championship leads.

It is a bittersweet location in Uddevalla for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli, who has left the bitter aspect in the dust with his impressive double race victory for the 70th grand prix win of his career.

“I’m very happy; I’ve been ill, so I didn’t expect a lot but I have started to feel better and better on the bike over the last week which let me push more while training,” Cairoli said. “I hope to keep going like this and try to be on top every weekend.”

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek mounted the podium for the 11th time from a possible 12 this year. Although he is yet to win a GP, the Belgian feels everything is going to plan as he moves up into second overall in the MXGP Championship standings.

“It doesn’t feel so good to move up in the championship because another rider has crashed or hurt themselves,” he said. “But it is what it is and the season is still long, so you don’t know what can happen but considering this is my second year in MXGP, I am pretty proud of what I am doing.”

He has known as a veteran of the class but Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos looks to be raising the intensity in each and every outing, finishing third overall on Sunday.

“It was really good out there,” Strijbos said. “I expected a little more after the first moto because I felt good out on the track, I had some good lines, but the second race I had sand in my goggles which made it really difficult to get close to Max [Nagl], but I am still really happy.”

Meanwhile Team HRC’s Max Nagl made a solid return to racing, although the German appears to struggle to make passes after a bad start, but that could be down to lack of racing. Nevertheless, a good start in race two, after finishing eighth in race one, saw the factory Honda rider bounce back for third landing in fourth overall for this GP.

CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Tommy Searle is progressively improving and is starting to look hungrier for better results. A fifth and a sixth overall left the Brit rounding out the top five.

Bad luck struck Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle, who was right in the thick of the championship title chase, when he clipped the back wheel of his teammate Strijbos heading into turn one, wiping out in spectacular style and getting pummeled by the rest of the field.

While we did see the tough Belgian get to his feet after a good five to 10 minutes of laying in agony, he has gone to hospital to be thoroughly checked over.

While Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s surprise contender Dean Ferris made his come back to the FIM Motocross World Championship and while it didn’t go entirely to plan, some fast lap times throughout the sessions over the weekend proved the speed is there, he is just lacking experience and hours on the bike. The Australian admitted “I’m looking forward to Finland where I can wipe the slate clean and try to improve things.”

Ferris was 13th in moto one, but dropped out of contention in the second moto, resulting in 18th overall for the weekend in his return from the US to grand prix competition.

Everybody, including his competition, continues to be left in awe of Herlings and his ability to ride a motorcycle. Not only is Herlings dominating every MX2 race, he is also laying down the fastest lap times of the weekend against his future rivals in MXGP.

“Yeah it was a great weekend, I feel stronger and stronger every week and keep dominating, so hopefully we can keep this rhythm going and hopefully win again next weekend in Finland and wrap the championship up in Loket,” Herlings beamed.

Behind Herlings, the podium was completed by teammate Jordi Tixier and 17-year-old Honda Gariboldi rider Tim Gajser, who is fast becoming a regular front-runner as he uncorks yet another bottle of champagne after posting a second and sixth place score for third overall.

Standing Construct KTM’s Valentin Guillod is forced to settle for yet another fourth. Rounding out the top five, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre’s result doesn’t reflect his speed today. The Frenchman was in fact the second fastest rider on the track, but was a little unfortunate when his third place finish is race one came undone with a gnarly crash in race two while battling for fourth.

Australian champion Luke Styke was 22nd overall for KEMEA Yamaha, finishing 24th in race one and 19th in the second. He now sits 20th in the world championship standings following 12 rounds.

2014 MXGP World Championship
Round 12 – Uddevalla, Sweden

MXGP overall results:
1. Antonio Cairoli 50
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek 42
3. Kevin Strijbos 40
4. Maximilian Nagl 32
5. Tommy Searle 31
6. Steven Frossard 28
7. David Philippaerts 25
8. Shaun Simpson 25
9. Davide Guarneri 24
10. Ken de Dycker 22
18. Dean Ferris (AUS) 8

MXGP championship standings:
1. Antonio Cairoli 527
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek 482
3. Clement Desalle 470
4. Kevin Strijbos 390
5. Shaun Simpson 267
6. Steven Frossard 265
7. Maximilian Nagl 237
8. David Philippaerts 210
9. Davide Guarneri 207
10. Gautier Paulin 205
20. Todd Waters (AUS) 107
37. Dean Ferris (AUS) 8

MX2 overall results:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 50
2. Jordi Tixier 40
3. Tim Gajser 37
4. Valentin Guillod 32
5. Romain Febvre 30
6. Dylan Ferrandis 29
7. Aleksandr Tonkov 28
8. Jose Butron 27
9. Christophe Charlier 27
10. Jeremy Seewer 23
22. Luke Styke (AUS) 2

MX2 championship standings:
1. Jeffrey Herlings 544
2. Jordi Tixier 409
3. Arnaud Tonus 389
4. Romain Febvre 388
5. Dylan Ferrandis 372
6. Tim Gajser 350
7. Valentin Guillod 288
8. Aleksandr Tonkov 284
9. Jose Butron 265
10. Jeremy Seewer 234
20. Luke Styke (AUS) 80

Click here for detailed results