TT Circuit Assen

The Dutch TT was first run in 1925 on public roads near Assen and moved to a purpose-built circuit in 1955, and it has a distinction no other venue has: it is the only circuit to have hosted a round of the motorcycle world championship in every year of the championship since 1949, with the single exception of 2020, when the race was cancelled in the pandemic. Riders call it the Cathedral. The layout has been shortened twice, most substantially in 2006, and the current circuit is about four and a half kilometres of fast flowing corners with heavy camber, which motorcycle riders rate highly and which produces close racing. TT weekend in late June brings well over a hundred thousand people to a town of seventy thousand, with a night before the race that has become an event in itself. Outside the grand prix the circuit runs superbike, truck racing, track days and testing.

History

The first Dutch TT, in 1925, ran on country roads through Rolde, Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo, and from 1926 the race used a street circuit of 28.57 km around Assen, won that year by Piet van Wijngaarden at an average of 91.4 km/h. In 1955 a new circuit was built using a third of the old one, and in 2006 it was fundamentally redesigned, with only the finish line never moved (Wikipedia, TT Circuit Assen).

What to look for

• A championship record no one matches - a grand prix every season since 1949 bar the cancelled 2020.
• Fast cambered corners - the flowing layout that riders rate so highly.
• TT weekend in June - over a hundred thousand people in a town of seventy thousand.
• A full season otherwise - superbikes, trucks, track days and testing.

When to go

Late June for the TT; events run through the season. A day.

Things to know

TT weekend fills Assen and the whole province - accommodation books a year ahead and prices multiply. Tickets sell out. Outside events there is little to see; the circuit is a working venue.

Nearby

Assen and the Drents Museum are close; Fochteloerveen is west.

Key facts