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Marquez, Rossi and Lorenzo the main attractions in Jerez

Xinhua, May 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Around 150,000 fans will cheer on Spanish world champion Marc Marquez in the Moto GP in Jerez on Sunday.

Along with fellow Spaniard, Jorge Lorenzo, who on Friday announced he was extending his contract to ride for the Yamaha team, the reigning world champion is the big attraction for the annual pilgrimage to the south west of Spain for motorbike enthusiasts from all over Spain.

The long weekend means fans from all over the country are able to make the trip to not only watch Sunday's race but also Friday's practice session and Saturday's qualification in a weekend which generates an estimated 50 million euros (55 million US dollars) for the local economy.

Marquez needs a win to keep up the chase of Italian, Valentino Rossi, who is the current leader of this year's World Championship and much of the interest will be in how his able to respond after injuring a hand after falling in the last race as he and Rossi dueled for the lead.

"At the start I was worried that it would hurt, but it has responded well and I was able to ride without painkillers," said Marquez, who explained that he has only carried out short sessions and added that the main issue would be "how my hand responds on Saturday after having worked it on Friday."

Although the Moto GP is the main course of the weekend, Jerez also hosts Moto 3 and Moto 2 races in which Tito Rabat is favorite among a host of Spanish riders with options of finishing on the podium. Endite