FAST FACTS
OFFICIAL NAME TT Circuit Assen
LOCATION Drenthe province, Netherlands, southwest of Assen
TRACK LENGTH 2.830 mi (4.555 km)
DATE OPENED 1925
FAMOUS FEATURE Assen’s most famous feature is its fans—every year hundreds of thousands turn up and stay for a week. The track itself is surrounded by rolling, grassy banking, offering excellent viewing.
TRIVIA Although famed for nearly 80 years as a motorcycle track and the host of various World Championship events including MotoGP, Assen has been around almost as long as bikes and bike racing, with its original 17.7-mile (28.4-km) track getting its start back in 1925 with the Dutch Tourist Trophy race (the source of the “TT" in the track's full name).
A more formalized track of 4.8 miles (7.7 km) was built near that original brick-paved road in 1955, and it included banked curves, although by now those banks have been altered for safety issues, and the track itself was shortened in 2006, down to the current 2.8 mile (4.6 kilometer) length.
Assen is a challenging, heart-racing combination of tight technical curves and long speedy straightaways. But no matter the alterations and redesigns, this track's finish line has never been moved, and its many racers and spectators continue to be hailed by a bevy of brolly-bearing beauties.
FAST FACTS
OFFICIAL NAME TT Circuit Assen
LOCATION Drenthe province, Netherlands, southwest of Assen
TRACK LENGTH 2.830 mi (4.555 km)
DATE OPENED 1925
FAMOUS FEATURE Assen’s most famous feature is its fans—every year hundreds of thousands turn up and stay for a week. The track itself is surrounded by rolling, grassy banking, offering excellent viewing.
TRIVIA Although famed for nearly 80 years as a motorcycle track and the host of various World Championship events including MotoGP, Assen has been around almost as long as bikes and bike racing, with its original 17.7-mile (28.4-km) track getting its start back in 1925 with the Dutch Tourist Trophy race (the source of the “TT" in the track's full name).
A more formalized track of 4.8 miles (7.7 km) was built near that original brick-paved road in 1955, and it included banked curves, although by now those banks have been altered for safety issues, and the track itself was shortened in 2006, down to the current 2.8 mile (4.6 kilometer) length.
Assen is a challenging, heart-racing combination of tight technical curves and long speedy straightaways. But no matter the alterations and redesigns, this track's finish line has never been moved, and its many racers and spectators continue to be hailed by a bevy of brolly-bearing beauties.