The Cathedral of Speed celebrates nine decades of hosting elite-level racing
The 90th Dutch TT will be a memorable one. Delayed by a year due to Covid-19, this anniversary will not be the big party that was planned, but the 90th TT will not pass completely unnoticed. Visible everywhere is the special logo, which was chosen as the winner by TT fans in a logo competition.
A special heraldic coat of arms has been designed for the 90th TT. It shows the strong connections with the municipality of Assen and the province of Drenthe and between the glorious past, the present and the future. And the coat of arms visibly expresses the solidarity of all those who are active on and around the TT circuit.
Rich history
The first Dutch TT was held on Saturday 11 July 1925. In those days there wasn’t any ‘real’ race track; the races were held on the public road. The 28.4 km triangle of roads between Rolde (start/finish), Borger and Schoonloo served as the race track.
The organiser was the ‘Assen & Omstreken’ motorcycle club, established in 1922. The following year the second Dutch TT moved to Assen where, just south of the capital of Drenthe, a new 16.5 km track had been found. This was in use every year up to and including the 24th TT in 1954, with the exception of the 1940-1945 war years.
In 1936 the organisation of the TT was handed over from Motorclub Assen to the specially established Stichting Circuit van Drenthe and the 15th Dutch TT was held in 1939. The Second World War subsequently caused a 6-year interruption in the racing action. In 1946 racing was resumed, albeit only on a national level, but from 1947 the Dutch TT was once again an international event. The TT Circuit Assen is the only race track in the world where World Championships have been held annually since the establishment of the official World Championships in 1949.
For the 25th Dutch TT in 1955, the specially constructed 7.7 km race track was taken into use, and this new track also meant that sidecars could be added to the programme. The track that was built in 1955 underwent a complete renovation in 1984. By shortening the North loop the length was reduced by 1.5 km, to a total of 6.1 km. In 1989 the facilities were completely updated and expanded significantly, and with the addition of 3 metres, the width of the track increased to 10 metres.
In 1992 the current TT Circuit Assen was permanently removed from the public road system for the first time. After the end of the 2003 season, work started on further improvements to the public facilities. A beautiful motorcycle park was also added, where some 12,000 motorbikes could be parked on concrete strips using a jiffy or centre stand.
The magical Cathedral of Speed awaits!
And of course, the safety of the riders was considered. The gravel traps were expanded and enlarged, more air fences were installed and further measures were taken to increase safety. In 2015 the agreement with promotor Dorna for the MotoGP™ was renewed until 2026. This ensures that the TT Circuit Assen will continue to present motorbike racing at the highest level in the world until 2026.
The races in Assen were the only ones on the MotoGP™ calendar held on Saturday, the traditional raceday since 1925. Starting in 2016 the TT race day has been moved from the last Saturday in June to the last Sunday in June.
The Motul TT Assen of 2021, the 90th Dutch TT, will be held from 25 until 27 June 2021 at the TT Circuit in Assen. In the meantime, you can view some of the track's most historic moments here!
