The challengers gathered at the Jerez circuit in Spain for Round 4. Wayne Gardner and Kevin Magee were absent due to injuries so it was left to Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey to spearhead the respective Honda and Yamaha line up. Rainey was confident of victory. In contrast, Lawson had yet to win for his new team. Kevin Schwantz (Suzuki), Niall Mackenzie (Yamaha) and Christian Sarron (Yamaha) were all on the pace. The 250cc race was a cracker. Sito Pons (Honda) was favourite for his home GP but Luca Cadalora (Yamaha) was out to upset the Spaniard. Juan Garriga and Carlos Cardus were also hoping to boost their championship positions.