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Race
 Things
stayed clear and cool at the start, which went off first time despite
Piquet not moving into his grid slot correctly. Prost shot off at an
angle, briefly going onto the grass and dropping back, while Mansell
tore away and was alongside Senna into Paddock. Rosberg was soon with
them as well, and Mansell was forced wide, dropping to 4th in front
of de Angelis, with Piquet through to 3rd. Behind came Warwick, Streiff,
Surer and Laffite. Alboreto and Johansson had both passed Prost, with
Boutsen and Brundle also passing the McLaren as the field sifted through
Surtees.
 The
Ferraris soon moved past the Ligier pair, with Prost back in 13th, with
Warwick already disappearing with a misfire. Senna, Rosberg and Piquet
were very close, while Mansell soon left de Angelis behind and began
closing on the leading trio. Prost swiftly battled up to 9th, and began
eating into the gap between himself and 8th-placed Alboreto.
 The
fascinating battle for the lead was sadly shorn of much of its' interest
when Rosberg tried to take a tight line through Graham Hill on lap 7.
He managed to nose in front of Senna, but span on the exit. The helpless
Piquet, with nowhere to go, hit him at low speed but with enough force
to take the front wing off the Brabham. The double world champion was
out, stalled, while Rosberg motored across the grass and rejoined well
down the order with a puncture to boot, his impetuous move having effectively
taken two potential winners out of the running.
 This
left Mansell trying to chase Senna, with de Angelis up into 3rd some
way back, followed by Johansson, Surer, Alboreto and Prost. Rosberg's
return to the track after having a fresh tyre fitted saw him baulk Senna,
allowing Mansell to close right up to the Lotus. Mansell took full advantage
and went down the inside at Graham Hill, this time successfully - but
under a yellow flag being waved as the marshals were still removing
Piquet's Brabham. Any thought that this might have been unintentional
on the part of Rosberg was banished when he moved over for Mansell to
pass, and then chopped right back in front of Senna, allowing his team-mate
to pull out a lead.
 Soon
after Prost was into 6th and pressing Surer, while Alboreto was back
in 8th under attack from Brundle, soon to head into the pits in the
hope that fresh tyres would improve his handling problems. His race
ended a scant few laps after rejoining with a massive turbo fire, all
but handing the title to Prost - now pushing Johansson, who had fallen
behind Surer. However, behind him was a mischievous Laffite, and the
Ligier was through into 6th before long - though by now McLaren had
informed Prost of Alboreto's retirement, and the world champion elect
was happy to sit back. Laffite made short work of Johansson soon afterwards,
and set off after Surer.
 The
Brabham driver for his part was all over de Angelis, soon passing the
Lotus for 3rd, and then setting off after Senna. Laffite, setting fastest
lap, soon followed him through, the Pirelli tyres working superbly for
once - which made it all the more of a shame that Piquet had retired.
Surer was soon making up for it, swarming all over the back of Senna
and nearly getting alongside at Hawthorn (where he had passed de Angelis)
on one occasion as the pair were caught by Laffite and began a fascinating
battle. Surer finally broke Senna's resistance and moved into 2nd at
Hawthorn on lap 35, with Laffite following through a lap later in the
same spot.
 Mansell
had a lead of nearly 14 seconds at this point, and it really looked
like the Pirelli runners would mount a challenge, Laffite setting another
fastest lap. However, Mansell had been running to Senna's pace and swiftly
adapted to match Surer's, his lead staying stable. Laffite, meanwhile,
was fading as his tyres wore, allowing Senna to move back into 3rd place,
and the Ligier was soon to pit for fresh tyres. This promoted Johansson
to 4th.
 Prost,
playing it cautious, had stopped for tyres at mid-distance, and with
a clear track in front of him set a succession of fastest laps, and
was soon in 6th and catching de Angelis. He moved past the Lotus when
it got boxed behind a struggling Watson in a neat piece of team driving.
Prost was in 4th moments later as Johansson pulled into the pits to
retire with an electrical fault. The three points would give him the
title, and he snapped back to his cautious mode, showing a notable reluctance
to lap the erratic Patrese, running in 9th right behind Boutsen and
Streiff.
 This
development promoted Rosberg to 6th, Laffite having disappeared with
a blown Renault after a stirring drive, at least getting the satisfaction
of setting fastest lap. The afternoon's other unlikely hero, Surer,
also went unrewarded as his turbocharger failed, setting off a huge
fire on the back of the Brabham and promoting Senna to 2nd, Prost to
3rd and de Angelis to 4th - but only briefly, as Rosberg charged past
de Angelis and right onto the McLaren's tail. Once again Prost decided
discretion was the better part of valour, moving over as soon as the
Williams challenged him.
 That
was how they finished after an excellent race. Mansell's long-awaited
first victory (it was his 72nd start) was hugely popular with the crowd,
while Senna was again pleased to finish in the Lotus. Rosberg's third
boggled belief, considering he'd lost a lap in the early stages after
his puncture. Prost was even happier than Mansell, having finally secured
his elusive title with two races still to go. Fifth went to de Angelis,
while Boutsen advanced to 6th at the end as Streiff's defences were
finally worn down, Watson also passing the Ligier in the closing stages.
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