Fonsi Gonz�lez Nieto was the best Spaniard, in fourth position, but very far from the times set by the Frenchman, whereas the rider who will be his team mate in the 2004 season, the Argentinean Sebasti�n Porto, was only a second behind his rival and demonstrated a remarkable progression on the way to getting adapted to the new Aprilia, after his time spent at Yamaha and Honda.

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Randy de Puniet�s time is a second under his best training time for the Spanish GP in 2003 (1'44"723) and which was fast enough to give him the pole position. This lowers the circuit record held since 2001 by the Japanese rider Daijiro Kato with a 1'44"444.

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Behind him, the Argentinean Sebasti�n Porto quickly made use of the special characteristics of the Aprilia and set a good time of 1'45"095, a second faster than his best time in last year�s Spanish GP at the controls of the Movistar Honda.

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