Forget the one-on-one showdown this year between reigning MXGP world champion Tony Cairoli and American hero Ryan Villopoto.

This little rivalry is being overshadowed at the moment by the battle between Belgian Clement Desalle and German Max Nagl for the No.1 position, at least for the time being.

Husqvarna rider Nagl, in MXGP, and Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis, in MX2, were the surprise overall winners at round three of the Motocross World Championships in Argentina at the weekend.

Nagl snatched another holeshot and produced another scintillating display to win MXGP race two and the overall at the MXGP of Patagonia, Argentina.

A humble Nagl said he “didn’t expect to win but we made some bike changes and I changed my lines because the track was really tricky. There were so many options for lines and for me this is really nice and important for a motocross track so we don’t have to follow everybody. It makes awesome racing”.

Suzuki’s Desalle is starting to carve a reputation for consistency as he stood on the second step of the podium for the third consecutive time this year. Although Desalle actually logged the same points as Nagl at the weekend, the overall winner is determined by the result of the second race which left Nagl as the round victor thanks to his race two win.

It was a crazy day for KTM’s Cairoli.

The defending MXGP champion set the fastest lap in race one but on his last lap charge for the lead clipped his foot peg while scrubbing and pitched himself off the bike. Thankfully, he was okay and still managed to finish in second place which he duplicated in race two for third overall.

Kawasaki-mounted Villopoto was looking fast, as usual, but didn’t quite have the pace to stand on the podium here at MXGP of Patagonia Argentina. Nevertheless, a pair of fourths and fourth overall is still a solid effort.

Although a sixth and seventh was probably not the result Honda’s Gautier Paulin was looking for, every point counts in this 18-round championship and a fifth place is still a fine effort.

Meanwhile the Yamaha’s duo of Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre went bar to bar all weekend to round out the top seven in that order.

Meanwhile, in the MX2 class, it was a day to remember for Kawasaki’s Ferrandis, who took full advantage of situation at hand to take an impressive victory in race one followed up with a hard fought second in race two for his first ever grand prix victory.

“It’s amazing, for sure a great moment for me and my crew,” the Frenchman said.

An extremely smart mind-set is paying dividends for KTM’s Pauls Jonass as he landed himself on the second step of the podium for the second time this year.

“I felt so good on this track, I had so much fun. In the last race I knew whether I finished second or third I would still be second overall so I didn’t take any risk. Second overall is good for me and I am happy with it.”

Like Ferrandis Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer also left the grand prix of Patagonia Argentina with a career-best finish. The Swiss star on the rise banked two fifths this weekend to round off the podium in third.

“I worked my whole life to be at the top of this sport. It’s an amazing feeling to be on the podium for the first time, I had two solid races with two fifths which normally isn’t enough to be on the podium but on a track like this it is important to be consistent, so it paid off.”

Kawasaki’s Thomas Covington is becoming a solid member of the top five with yet another fourth overall, while a so-so day in the office left Honda’s Tim Gajser in fifth.

As for the MX2 championship points leader, KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings had a massive crash in race one which left his bike mangled and un-rideable. Despite the magnitude of his crash and a bruised ankle, Herlings salvaged his red plate with an impressive victory in race two.

MXGP CLASS:

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 34:34.509; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:10.650; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.673; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:20.097; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:35.002; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:42.023; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), +0:43.303; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:47.287; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:51.740; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:53.389

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:

1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 35:07.730; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:02.273; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.673; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.856; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:08.700; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.013; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:32.106; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:39.482; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:41.387; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:42.020

MXGP Overall Top Ten:

1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 45 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 45 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 44 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 29 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 27 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 22 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 20 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 133 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 123 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 123 p.; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 106 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 96 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 95 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 72 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 62 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 60 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 55 p.

MX2 CLASS:

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:

1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 34:43.016; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:07.336; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:12.925; 4. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:15.607; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:21.082; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:24.902; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:31.438; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:41.086; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:42.377; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:57.878

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:11.306; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.036; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:24.396; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:27.742; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:37.316; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:48.784; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:55.339; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:56.125; 9. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:07.365; 10. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +1:19.673

MX2 Overall Top Ten:

1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 47 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 32 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 28 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 27 p.; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 26 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 20 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 19 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 125 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 125 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 112 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 82 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 81 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 80 p.; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 79 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 73 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 70 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 57 p.