Den Bosch and Eastbourne are two cities 300 km apart. Maradona starts from Den Bosch towards Eastbourne at 8:24 a.m. One hour later, Pele also starts from Den Bosch towards Eastbourne. After travelling for 1 hour, Pele reaches Nottingham, a town on the way, which Maradona had passed 40 minutes earlier. If Pele and Maradona reach Eastbourne at exactly the same time, what are their speeds respectively (in km/h)?

Introduction / Context:
This is a challenging relative speed and time coordination problem involving two people starting from the same place at different times but arriving at a common destination together. The extra information about Nottingham, a point on the route, provides a relationship between their speeds. The question requires careful time-line reasoning and systematic use of distance = speed * time to deduce the speeds of Maradona and Pele.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Distance between Den Bosch and Eastbourne = 300 km.
- Maradona starts at 8:24 a.m. from Den Bosch towards Eastbourne.
- Pele starts at 9:24 a.m. from Den Bosch towards Eastbourne, one hour after Maradona.
- After travelling 1 hour, Pele reaches Nottingham at 10:24 a.m.
- Maradona passed Nottingham 40 minutes earlier, at 9:44 a.m.
- Nottingham lies on the straight line route between Den Bosch and Eastbourne.
- Both travel at constant but different speeds and reach Eastbourne at the same time.

Concept / Approach:
The first key step is to use Nottingham to relate the speeds. The time taken by Maradona to reach Nottingham and the time taken by Pele to reach the same point are different but correspond to the same distance, so we can express their speeds in terms of a common ratio. The second key step is to use the fact that they both reach Eastbourne at the same time. Since Pele starts one hour later, Maradona's travel time to Eastbourne is one hour more than Pele's. Combining these two relationships lets us solve for both speeds and confirm the correct option.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Let the speed of Maradona be v_m km/h and the speed of Pele be v_p km/h.Step 2: Time for Maradona to reach Nottingham is from 8:24 a.m. to 9:44 a.m., which is 1 hour 20 minutes = 4/3 hours.Step 3: Time for Pele to reach Nottingham is from 9:24 a.m. to 10:24 a.m., which is 1 hour.Step 4: Distances to Nottingham are the same for both, so v_m * (4/3) = v_p * 1.Therefore, v_p = (4/3) * v_m.Step 5: Let T_p be the total travel time for Pele to reach Eastbourne. Then Maradona travels for T_p + 1 hours (because he started one hour earlier and they arrive together).Step 6: Distance to Eastbourne for each is 300 km.So 300 = v_p * T_p and 300 = v_m * (T_p + 1).Step 7: Substitute v_p = (4/3) * v_m into 300 = v_p * T_p to get 300 = (4/3) * v_m * T_p.Also, from 300 = v_m * (T_p + 1), we have T_p + 1 = 300 / v_m.Step 8: From 300 = (4/3) * v_m * T_p, get T_p = 300 * 3 / (4 * v_m) = 225 / v_m.Step 9: Substitute into T_p + 1 = 300 / v_m:225 / v_m + 1 = 300 / v_m ⇒ 225 + v_m = 300 ⇒ v_m = 75 km/h.Step 10: Then v_p = (4/3) * 75 = 100 km/h.

Verification / Alternative check:
With v_m = 75 km/h and v_p = 100 km/h, distance to Nottingham covered by Maradona in 4/3 hours is 75 * 4/3 = 100 km. Pele covers the same 100 km in 1 hour at 100 km/h, which is consistent. For Eastbourne: Maradona takes T_m = 300 / 75 = 4 hours. Pele takes T_p = 300 / 100 = 3 hours. Because Pele starts 1 hour after Maradona, their arrival times both occur at 8:24 a.m. + 4 hours = 12:24 p.m., confirming the logic.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- 100 km/h, 125 km/h and the other pairs do not satisfy both the Nottingham timing condition and the equal arrival time condition when tested similarly.
- Only the pair 75 km/h and 100 km/h satisfies all the constraints exactly.

Common Pitfalls:
It is very easy to confuse the starting times and travel durations, or to mis-handle the 40 minute difference at Nottingham. Another common error is to assume that Nottingham is at the midpoint of the route, which is never stated. Instead, always treat Nottingham as an unknown intermediate point and use the equality of distances with different times to relate speeds. Drawing a time-line can greatly reduce mistakes in such multi-step problems.

Final Answer:
The speeds are 75 km/h for Maradona and 100 km/h for Pele.