The TT Circuit Assen is a

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

built in 1955 and located in

Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...

, Netherlands. Host of the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known ...

, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed" by motorcycle racing fans. The venue has the distinction of holding the most Grand Prix motorcycle races every year (except ) since the series was created in . It has a capacity of 110,000 spectators, including 60,000

seats A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

. Since 1992, the circuit has also been part of the World SBK calendar except for the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

season.

History

The original Assen track was first used for the 1926

(Tourist Trophy) race, after the first 1925 event was held on country roads through the villages of Rolde, Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo, and organized by the ''Motorclub Assen en Omstreken''. The brick- and semi-paved track had a length of . The winner was Piet van Wijngaarden on a 500 cc Norton with an average speed of . From 1926 on the Dutch TT was held at Assen on a

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport race track, racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor racing, motor races. Airport Runway, runways and Taxiway, taxiways are also sometimes part of ...

through De Haar, Barteldsbocht, Oude Tol, Hooghalen, Laaghalen and Laaghalerveen. In 1951 the Italian Umberto Masetti took the record on a 500 cc

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History Giuseppe Gilera founded his self-named motorcycle company in 1909 (aged 22) near M ...

with an average speed of . In 1954,

Geoff Duke Geoffrey Ernest Duke (29 March 1923 – 1 May 2015), born in St. Helens, Lancashire, was a British multiple motorcycle Grand Prix road racing world champion. He raced several brands of motorcycle: Norton, Gilera, BMW, NSU and Benelli. Af ...

of Great Britain reached . The circuit remained unchanged until 1955, when a whole new circuit was built by using a third of the original street circuit, joined with purpose-built sections, but less than a third of the length and much more like a modern road racing circuit. In the period of 1999–2002, the circuit invested millions in upgrades. In 1999, the circuit management placed a new main grandstand and hospitality buildings. In 2000, a new Race Control tower was built, as well as 34 newly equipped pit boxes, a new media and medical centre. Between September 2001 and April 2002, another €9 million was spent on the enlargement of the paddock area from 40 to 60.000

square metres The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter ( American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square ...

. This upgrade meant that the Veenslang and Ruskenhoek corners had to be altered. The main straight has also moved about eastwards and a new two-lane tunnel now connects the paddock with the main entrance road and the media accreditation / welcome centre. The Mandeveen and Duikersloot corners have been moved back by 10 metres to accommodate larger run-offs and gravel beds at the southern part of the circuit. That part of the track has also been resurfaced with new asphalt. In total, the circuit has been shortened from . The total cost of these upgrades was €23 million. In 2005, the grandstand at the Geert Timmer corner was slightly altered. In order to improve the gravel run-off length, the grandstand was made in a 'floating' manner to accommodate the extra space that was needed. The lay-out of the circuit was also slightly altered. The circuit was fundamentally redesigned again in 2006, becoming the so-called A-Style Assen TT Circuit. All alterations aside, only one section of the circuit is original; the finish line never moved. On 21 September 2009 it was announced that a new chicane will be added, after a request from the A1GP organization, however A1GP was unable to start the 2009–2010 season and as a substitute the

Superleague Formula Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...

replaced A1GP.

Layout history

Current racetrack

Assen race track was built in 1955, and initially had a length of . The current track has a length of with the mixture of super fast flat-out and slow corners. The longest straight is . The curves in

were traditionally banked and the surface is extremely grippy, so the riders were able to drive much faster on the course than other circuits. Today these sloped or curved bends have been modified due to safety issues.

Innovation

On 6 July 2004, the organisation announced plans for an amusement park located to the north of the track. In 2006 the northern loop was removed and the length was shortened to . The new centre is expected to be visited by 300,000 people, and the total investment is approximately €85 million.

Events

; Current * April:

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...

Supersport World Championship The Supersport World Championship, abbreviated to WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on hard-surfaced circuits, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines were originally based on production-based motorcycles with 600& ...

, Supersport 300 World Championship, FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship, Northern Talent Cup * May: Ducati Club Races * June:

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

'',

MotoE World Championship The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship (formerly known as the MotoE World Cup) is a class of motorcycle racing that uses only electric motorcycles. The series is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM and the 2019 Mo ...

''Dutch eRace'', ADAC Hansa Pokal Rennen * July: Dutch Moto Classic,''Profile Truckstar Festival'' * August: Supercar Challenge ''Jack’s Casino Racing Days'',

Eurocup-3 Eurocup-3 is a formula racing series regulated according to Formula Regional regulations. The series is founded for levelling up the competition for all drivers, with each team committing on a maximum budget of €400,000 every season. History ...

BOSS GP The BOSS GP Racing Series is a motor racing series in Europe. The category originated in 1995 as the BOSS Formula series and evolved into the EuroBOSS Series. BOSS is an acronym that stands for Big Open Single Seaters. History The BOSS serie ...

, Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux,

Sidecar World Championship FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949. It was formerly named Supersi ...

, , * September:

British Superbike Championship The British Superbike Championship (BSB), known for sponsorship reasons as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, is a road racing championship for superbike class machines in the United Kingdom and acknowledged as the premier domestic s ...

, British Supersport Championship, Northern Talent Cup, ADAC Racing Weekend Assen, Tabac Classic Grand Prix * October: Supercar Challenge ''Finaleraces'' ; Former *

Acceleration 2014 Acceleration 2014 was a multi-day festival combining top class Formula racing, car and Motorcycle racing, bike racing with live music and other entertainment. The festival was organised by the International Sport Racing Association (ISRA), based ...

(2014) * ADAC Formel Masters (2008–2011) *

ADAC GT Masters The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT ...

(2008–2011) * ATS Formel 3 Cup (2004–2012) *

Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...

** '' Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix'' (2007) *

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...

(2019–2021) * DTM Trophy (2021) * European Truck Racing Championship (2004–2005, 2009) *

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...

(1979–1980, 1995–1996, 2003–2006) * Formula 750 (1976–1979) * Formula Renault 2.0 Germany (1997–1998, 2004–2005) * Formula Renault 2.0 Netherlands (2003–2005) * Formula Renault Northern European Cup (2006–2017) * GT4 European Trophy (2011, 2013) *

Motocross World Championship The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps ...

(2015–2018) * Porsche Carrera Cup Germany (1997) * Prototype Cup Germany (2023) * Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (2007–2019, 2023–2024) * SMP F4 Championship (2017–2018) *

** '' Superleague Formula round Netherlands'' (2010–2011) * Super Tourenwagen Cup (1996) * TCR Europe Touring Car Series (2018) * W Series (2019)

Lap records

As of April 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the TT Circuit Assen are listed as:

Notes

References

External links

RacingCircuit.info's history of the TT Circuit Assen

Trackpedia's guide to racing and tracking at Assen

TT Circuit Assen homesite
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TT Circuit Assen The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed" by motorcycle racing fans. The venue has the distinction of holding th ...

TT TT

20th-century architecture in the Netherlands